Long Forgotten Memories
by agroxneko
Summary: After Rachel's fathers die she's sent to the orphanage and meets Santana. When she leaves, she doesn't think she'll ever meet her again, until she moves to Lima, Ohio. However, Santana doesn't remember her, and Rachel decides to make her remember.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Rachel was happy her first seven years of her life, living perfectly content with her father's. Sure, she never had much friends at school, but she always had her fathers to go home to after a hard day. They would love her with everything they had and everything would get better.

But that was taken away from her one day, when they both died in a car crash. The one responsible for it, a drunk driver, just had a few scratches and bruises.

Rachel was in the backseat, and the driver had hit them head on, so she had taken the least amount of damage. But that didn't make it any less scary for her. When she was taken away to the hospital in the ambulance, they had told her the worst news she could get.

Her fathers were dead.

She felt numb, and she didn't exactly know what happened next or what they were saying. All she knew was a social worker came and drove her to a large building. They said it was where kids like her got adopted. She didn't care; she didn't even bother trying to talk to the worker who kept trying to make small talk.

* * *

><p>After someone she could care less about gave her an explanation of the rules and way things worked, the first thing they did was send her to the therapist. He asked Rachel all kinds of questions that she didn't remember or even listen to. He kept urging her to talk, trying to force it out. She grabbed the container of candy on the coffee table separating them and threw it at his face in frustration.<p>

Her frustration only grew when he dodged it.

* * *

><p>The therapist decided to make an appointment every other day and after he excused her she got sent to one of the bedrooms and was led to her bed by one of the workers. As she sat on the bed, she stared at the others who just dismissed her and talked quietly with one another. No one was in a big group; everyone just had one or two people with them.<p>

Rachel sat quietly on her bed, swinging her legs back and forth as she looked down at the ground. She sat there ignored until she felt something small hit her shoulder so suddenly she jumped up wide eyes and flung herself to the headboard. The other kids looked at her direction in surprise, looking as if seeing her for the first time before minding their own business again.

Rachel took deep breaths as she stared at what had hit her earlier. She furrowed her eyebrows together and crawled toward it and grabbed it in her hands.

"Hey, that's mine." She flinched at the voice, but didn't make noise. She looked up to see brunette with tan skin around her age with her arms crossed. She had a scowl on her face as she tapped her foot repeatedly. Rachel looked at the ball in her hands then to the girl in front of her. The girl opened her mouth to say something but closed it again when Rachel held it out to her wordlessly.

The other brunette grabbed it and was about walk off before thinking better of it. Instead, she bounced the small yellow ball on the floor and watched as Rachel brought her legs to her chest and stared back.

"You're new." Rachel nodded and the brunette stared at her in a way that made Rachel want to curl up even more before giving the ball a final bounce and jumping on the bed next to her. "Do you even talk?" Rachel looked down and shrugged, making the brunette sigh and think of another question.

"What's your name?" Rachel looked back up and open her mouth a few times but closed it and looked down again. "I'm Santana," Rachel looked back up a little bit to see Santana giving her a grin. "If you don't tell me your name, I'm making one up." The Latina stared at Rachel for a few moments, but nothing came out of the petite girl, making Santana shrug. "Okay, I'm making one up," She thought for a moment before frowning. "I'll think of one later." Santana then sat in the middle of the bed and played with the tiny ball without saying anything else.

She didn't know how long they sat there, with Santana playing with the yellow ball and Rachel staring blankly at the cheap covers, but it wasn't until a worker came in announcing bed time that Rachel finally looked up to see Santana and the other kids getting into bed or changing into pajamas.

Santana wordlessly went to the tiny drawer beside Rachel's bed and through the clean clothes at Rachel. As Santana made her way to her own drawer Rachel put them on and found them way to big. Her fingertips barely showed and she almost tripped on the pants. As she climbed into bed, she looked a few beds over to see Santana giving her an amused grin before diving under the covers. Rachel sighed and did the same, closing her eyes for what was probably her worst night ever.

* * *

><p>The next morning, all the kids are doing their daily morning routine. Rachel looks around trying to remember what the person in charge told her when one of the workers waking up the heavy sleepers comes over to her.<p>

"Did you sleep well, sweetie?" She talks in a high pitched voice that's so forceful and reminds her of how someone would talk to a newborn or puppy that it's painful. She raises her wrinkly hand and tries to put it on her shoulder but Rachel flinches away, causing the woman to frown.

Santana walks by and the woman and she tells her to look after Rachel in the same irritating voice and tone. She opens her mouth to argue but the old woman threatens her with no breakfast and the she closes her mouth. She leaves with a pat to Santana's head, making the Latina scowl and messing up her hair. When Santana nears Rachel with that scowl, she afraid

"You're lucky we already talked." Is all she says.

* * *

><p>The old worker makes Santana sit next to Rachel during breakfast but doesn't say anything. Breakfast consisted up tasteless eggs and bacon, and Rachel feels sick just looking at it. She looks at Santana to see the girl eating with her usual scowl on her face. Rachel's stomach growls and she slowly eats some of the eggs.<p>

In the end, she can't even finish the eggs and doesn't even touch the bacon. She waits for Santana to finish eating, and keeps fidgeting so much that Santana finally slams down her forks and glares at her, making Rachel shrink in her seat.

"Stop moving so much. Jeez." Rachel looks down embarrassed and stops fidgeting for all of five seconds. Santana groans in frustration and gets up to throw away her food, but gets scolded for doing so. The fiery Latina throws a tantrum and gets sent to time out, leaving Rachel alone and needing to use the bathroom.

Rachel decides to wait for Santana, but her bladder can't wait as long and soon enough she wets herself. As soon as someone notices, they point it out mocking laughter fills the room. Rachel feels the tears coming and runs away, knowing for the first time what it's like to be a laughing stock.

She gets lost along the way and as soon as she realizes it, she walks backwards until she hits a wall. She slides down until she's on the floor and she curls herself into a ball, her small frame violently shaking with quiet sobs.

The cries she makes are the first sound she's made since arriving.

When she hears footsteps coming her way she tenses and prepares herself for more mockery when they come to a stop. But she hears nothing and looks up to see Santana rubbing the back of her head looking sheepish.

"I…" She began. "Sorry about that." And Rachel knows someone spread around that Rachel Berry wet herself and that's how Santana found out. Rachel buries her face and suddenly she feels herself being lifted up. She looks up in surprise and see's Santana looking forward. Rachel clings onto the other girl and is slightly shocked at how strong she is, but then again, Rachel was never a heavy person.

* * *

><p>The next day Santana watched her more carefully out of the corner of her eye. Rachel still hadn't said a word to anyone, including Santana, but the brunette watched her for so long she knew what Rachel wanted most of the time.<p>

Rachel's incident also brought on the beginning of a long history of bullying. The first time it happened, a boy walked to Rachel where she was drawing a star in the play room. He grabbed her paper from her hand, making her whimper in protest.

"Maybe you should draw yourself wetting the bed." He was bigger than her, and Rachel could only look on as he ripped the paper in half and everyone in the room laughed. When he turned around to walk away, Santana was suddenly there and pushed him away with all her strength. He was caught off guard and stumbled back, knocking over paint and spilling it over a younger girl and her picture. She cried and a worker ran in, taking in the scene and glaring at him.

"She did it!" He said in a high pitched, whiny voice as he pointed to Santana. The said girl was sitting at the table with a piece of paper, drawing Rachel a new star. The worker just shook her head and dragged him out of the room when he broke out in tears. Santana hid a smirk, feeling slightly accomplished at not getting caught.

Santana finished the sloppy star and looked through the box of crayons and colored pencils to find a suitable color when Rachel passed her a colored pencil. She thought the color was yellow, but when she looked at it, the words said _gold_.

"Is it your favorite color or something?" When she looked at Rachel, the small girl nodded and Santana nodded back and began coloring. When she was done, she wrote out the letter S in the back and gave it to Rachel. Rachel took it with a smile and when she looked at Santana, the other girl smiled back.

It was a promise that Santana would be there for Rachel.

It seemed word had spread and even the therapist knew about her bladder incident. He tried to sympathize to her and asked her "how she felt" about it.

Rachel never said a word and just looked at the drawing in her hand.

Santana had eventually scared off everyone from picking on Rachel by the end of the week. The last time someone took away her toys and made her cry, the bully had a black eye and Santana's free time was restricted.

It didn't matter though, because everyone else was too afraid of getting beat up by the Latina that Rachel's bullying stopped.

It was also by the end of the week that Rachel found out she had a mother in New York she couldn't take her. The social workers said that she was busy but was trying her hardest to take in Rachel but she had to wait for a bit. They assured her that no strangers were going to adopt her, since she had her mother.

Not that it mattered to Rachel, she was never pretty. Not like Santana.

That night Santana and Rachel went the bedroom earlier than usual and they sat on Rachel's bed in comfortable silence. They had the yellow ball and were attempting to roll it between each other when Rachel grabbed the ball and held it for a moment.

"Santana?" Rachel's voice was hoarse and it hurt to talk, and it was barely a whisper but enough for Santana to nearly fall off the bed in surprise. She didn't even know Rachel knew her name. She gaped at Rachel longer than she intended before collecting herself.

"Y-yeah?" Santana mentally scolded herself for sounding just as surprised as she looked a few seconds ago. Rachel didn't seem to notice though.

"Thanks." Santana smiled.

"No problem." Santana was silent for a moment, before speaking up again. "Hey…what's your name?"

"Rachel."

"Okay, mine's Santana." Rachel grinned.

"I know." And Santana grinned back.

"Yeah."

* * *

><p>As the days went by and the social workers were trying to get Rachel taken in by her mother, she slowly started to speak more and more to Santana. Unlike the therapist, Santana never pushed her and the silence when neither talked was comfortable.<p>

Eventually a month went by, all with being protected and cared by Santana and every therapist session was in silence. They were sitting on Santana's bed this time, by themselves in silence when Santana spoke up.

"You remind me of Goldilocks." Rachel paused her drawing and furrowed her eyebrows at Santana.

"What?" Santana shrugged.

"I don't know. You're small and bouncy sometimes and loud sometimes, and you have long hair." Rachel jumped up from the bed and crossed her arms.

"Not." She said. "I'm not _that_… bouncy and loud." Santana grinned and shook her head.

"You are."

"Not!" Rachel repeated loudly, jumping up a bit. Santana's grin widened and Rachel blushed.

"Yup. But you're not blonde… I got it, Brownilocks!" Rachel scrunched up her nose. "That's your nickname." Santana muttered quietly about how she almost forgot about it as Rachel rolled her eyes.

"That makes no sense!"

"Find a Goldilocks one day, kay?" Santana teased. "Then it'll be perfect."

"_You_ find a Goldilocks." Rachel snapped back. Santana looked up as if in though and looked back to Rachel with a grin.

"Okay," Santana got off the bed and stood in front of Rachel. "Let's both find our own Goldilocks." Rachel frowned for a second before giggling, and soon Santana was joining her.

"Okay."

* * *

><p>It had been nearly a year that she had been in the building waiting to be taken in by her mother. She thought she should have minded, but she didn't, because she had Santana.<p>

She had a friend.

But then it all came crashing down on Rachel. Apparently, her birth mother had finally met the requirements to take Rachel into her home and be a part of her family. The day she found out, they told her she was leaving the next day. Rachel knew she should have been happy; she was going to have a family again. But she didn't want to leave the only friend she had.

After being excused from the office that they had called her to, she slowly walked to the bedroom and walked to her bed. She sat down trying to hold in the tears, and it wasn't long before another brunette ran in the room.

"There you are!" Santana yelled from the doorway and made her way in, grinning. "Hey, wanna mess with…" She stopped dead in her tracks when she _really_ took in Rachel's appearance. "What's up?" Santana sat down on the bed, and as soon as she did Rachel threw herself in her arms.

"I'm…" Rachel's voice broke. "Tomorrow, I'm leaving." Santana froze and looked down at her friend sadly.

"Leaving?" Rachel nodded against her shirt. "For good?" Another nod. They sat there while Rachel cried, and eventually Santana somehow brought them both under the covers. The bed was hard and small, but they fit easily as they held each other. Rachel started to doze off when Santana spoke up.

"Make sure to find a Goldilocks, you trouble maker." She murmered, and Rachel smiled at the new nickname.

"I am not a trouble maker," Santana laughed softly. "And you too." She felt Santana nod and they both fell into a peaceful sleep.

The next day, she met her mother, Shelby Corcoran. She smiled warmly at the girl as Rachel slowly made her way to the woman. Rachel smiled up at her nervously, and Shelby gave her daughter an awkward hug. When Shelby released Rachel, she offered her hand and Rachel slowly took it.

"Ready to go?" Shelby asked, and with a nod, the two left the office. As they made their way down the hall, they stopped when Santana came out of nowhere and stood in front of Rachel. Shelby raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, instead watching her daughter and allowing her to say her last goodbye.

"Um…" Santana held out the yellow ball she carried around everywhere. "Here." Rachel let go of her mother's hand and grabbed the ball with both of her own. She gaped at it, and rolled it around in her hand to find it covered with stars.

"Santana…" Santana just shrugged off Rachel's response.

"I thought I needed to give you something." Santana said. She had never really said goodbye to anyone before, but she heard giving gifts were something people did. She didn't have anything, just the ball she had since she was little. She didn't even know where it came from, but it was the one constant in her life. She never had friends, mostly because she didn't like people in general, and they all left anyway. Rachel was her first friend here, and she didn't even know why she bothered befriending the girl.

But she was glad she did.

They stood awkwardly, not knowing what to do next, before Rachel ran into Santana's body so abruptly that the Latina almost fell backwards. Rachel hugged her tightly and smiled when Santana hugged back.

"Don't forget about our Goldilocks deal." Rachel only hugged the Latina harder.

"What if I don't find one?" Santana smirked and whispered in her ear.

"Then I guess you'll just have to deal with me." _If I see you again…_ Rachel thought in her head, but didn't dare to speak it out loud. Santana gave Rachel a kiss on the cheek so light and quick Rachel almost thought she imagined it. Santana let go and ran down the hall, around the corner without looking back.

Once outside Shelby packed Rachel's belongings into the trunk of her car as Rachel waited at the front seat. Rachel stared at the building, it didn't look so menacing anymore as she stared at it and remembered her times with Santana. Shelby got into the car and looked at Rachel.

"Ready to go to your new home?" Rachel nodded silently, and the car drove off. Building got smaller and smaller, and once it was out of sight Rachel wondered if she'd ever see Santana again, or meet anyone else she could call a friend.

* * *

><p>And so Rachel lived in the small apartment in New York with Shelby. It was difficult, to say the least. Shelby wasn't sure of how to be a proper mother, and even though she had originally spent less time at the theatres acting and more time at home to care for Rachel, she started to revert back to her old ways.<p>

Rachel didn't talk much about her fathers. She would say little things they did for her here and there when Shelby looked lost on how to care for her and she was feeling some pity for her mother. She didn't make many friends either, and she was more often than not picked on for her looks.

By the time she was a sophomore, her mother wasn't even around the house anymore. When the social worker checked up on Rachel and saw her alone, they threatened Shelby to take her away again. It was then that Shelby thought that the city itself was too much of a distraction, and decided to move somewhere less distracting.

To the small town of Lima, Ohio. Where Rachel would attend McKinley High and Shelby would teach at another school.

"It's going to be great." Shelby said on the drive there, to their new house. She smiled, but the smile never reached her eyes and there was a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I know." Rachel replied as she leaned her head against the window. They pulled up to their new home, it seemed too big for just the two of them, but at least it wasn't overlarge like the three story houses she saw a few blocks back. Rachel walked in to her bedroom and looked out the window facing the backyard.

This was her new home.


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the prologue, it really meant a lot! Anyway, it's a bit late, but here's the first chapter, and it's shorter than the prologue.

* * *

><p>Rachel woke up from her bed when her alarm went off at the usual time, and she slowly sat up and silenced it. She looked around her new room for a moment, taking it in the morning light, before going to her elliptical. She knew she was never pretty face-wise, but if there was one thing she was back in New York and now, it was fit and healthy.<p>

When she was done with her morning exercise and shower, she walked downstairs and saw Shelby sitting at the table. She looked up when Rachel came down and smiled at her as she took a sip of her coffee. Well, so far she was keeping up with her promise.

"Did you sleep well, sweetie?" Shelby asked as she went through the newspaper.

"Yeah," Rachel said as she prepared her own breakfast. Shelby wasn't even like her, and wasn't much of a cook anyway. After Shelby's few attempts when she was around more in New York, Rachel decided she would cook her own food. When Rachel went to the table to eat she looked at the newspaper. "Is there even anything good?" She didn't think a place like Ohio could have anything interesting in their newspaper.

"Not really." Shelby made a face and muttered something about it being boring. When they were done, Shelby decided to drive Rachel the first day before she drove on her own, much to Rachel's protests. The drive was short, and Shelby ruffled her hair with a goodbye when they arrived at the parking lot.

Rachel rolled her eyes as she left the car and entered the school feeling all too uncomfortable. She felt eyes staring at her as she made her way to the principle's office and she knew every student was watching her. Sighing, she hurried to the office so she can get her things and get to class faster. Once she got her schedule a faculty member dropped a pile of books on the desk and she raised her eyebrows.

She looked up at the woman, only to see him looking at her expectantly and she looked back down at the large and heavy looking stack. _Seriously?_ Well, she mused, at least they were prepared for her arrival. Not that she minded, and she was sure she was strong enough to hold them for a little bit, but she knew the new kid walking down the hall with books was a disaster waiting to happen. The woman sighed and turned to a boy with a Mohawk sitting in the chair with an annoyed look on his face.

"Puckerman." The mohawked boy looked up and the woman motioned her to Rachel. "Help her carry her books and show her around, and I'll have Figgins excuse you this time." The boy, Puckerman, stood up with a grin and walked to the two.

"Hell yeah," She cleared her throat and his grin disappeared slightly. "I mean, yes ma'am." She turned back to her computer, ignoring the two students and he turned back to Rachel.

"Noah Puckerman, but everyone calls me Puck. _You_ can call me whatever you want, hot Jew." He said with a wink. Rachel rolled her eyes before looking up at him questioning as she grabbed the top half of her books.

"Rachel Berry. How did you know I was Jewish?" Puck grabbed the books from her hands and turned around slightly to grab the rest.

"I see them a mile away. Plus, face it; we're the hottest piece of meat around." He said with a wink, before walking off. Rachel had to suppress yet another eye roll. She wondered if that was a crude attempt of a compliment to her or just him. She walked forward and grabbed her paper with locker information.

"This way, Noah." She said, missing the frown on his face. The walk to her locker was in silence, or well, silence between them as the rest of the school talked loudly about her as if she wasn't there. When she reached her locker and once she opened it she turned around to see Puck pouting slightly. "What?" She asked.

"Why do you call me Noah?" He grumbled setting the books down and handing her one by one.

"Because that's your name? Or at least that is what I assume is your name, since that's what you introduced yourself as."

"Dude, no one but my mom calls me Noah. I prefer Puck." They had put all the books in her locker quickly, and she was looking at her schedule again.

"Yes well, I am sure your mother would want people to call you that since that's the name she chose for you, rather than the name you chose for yourself. Besides, I'm not too fond of calling people nicknames, I don't really mind having a nickname myself, only because I can't force people to call me a certain way. As long as the nickname isn't too bad I don't mind. Well, I think I can be on my own the rest of the way." She turned around to Puck, to see him looking at her with his hands in his pocket and a grin.

"Damn. That was a lot to say, you weren't that talkative before." Rachel shrugged and Puck shook his head. "Whatever, you sure you're okay? I mean I can take you to classes. After all, it got me out of getting in trouble with Figgins, so it's the least I can do."

"I am perfectly capable of reading room numbers, and I have not only my schedule but also a map of the school. Though I don't think I need it. I will see you later, Noah." Puck just shrugged and walked off with a wave.

Rachel sighed and walked off to the direction of class, but not before she felt something cold hit her directly in the face. She gasped in surprise and wiped her eyes as she heard students laugh around her.

"Welcome to McKinley High, new kid!" She looked up to see a football player high fiving another one before walking off with a smug grin.

"Damn, he got you good." Rachel turned her head to the direction of the voice to see a black girl looking at her up and down. She looked back up at Rachel and pointed herself. "Mercedes Jones. Now let's get you cleaned up." Mercedes led her to the nearest bathroom and began helping Rachel wipe the slushy off. "So, what's your name?"

"Rachel Berry, and is that sort of thing common?" Mercedes laughed as she tried to wipe some of the slushy off Rachel's clothing, to which she scrunched up her face at.

"It's called a facial slushy, and if you're on the bottom of the food chain, yeah it is." Rachel frowned as she looked in the mirror and picked the last bits of ice out of her hair.

"That's horrible. Do you get them a lot?" Mercedes opened her mouth to replay but Rachel began talking again in nervousness. "Not that you are on the "bottom of the food chain" as you say. I mean, you can be very popular for all I know, but-"

"It's alright. And yeah, I do," Mercedes shrugged. "That's what happens when you're in Glee club."

"Glee Club?"

"I'll tell you later, before we're even more late." Rachel looked at her confused and Mercedes laughed. "Girl, the bell rang when you got hit by that slushy. Probably too shocked to notice." When they went out to the hallway, sure enough the last of students were walking to class. Rachel and Mercedes went their separate ways, and when Rachel went to her class, all the students were in their seats. She looked at the teacher, who introduced himself as Mr. Schuester, and he looked out at the class.

"Class, we have a new student, Rachel Berry." He looked at the row of desks before speaking out again. "Santana, raise your hand." Rachel froze a bit at the name, looking forward to see a girl with dark hair and a tan complexion look up from her paper in annoyance.

"Why?" Mr. Schuester looked back at Rachel and point at Santana.

"Rachel, please sit there for today." The Latina suddenly spoke up before Rachel could move.

"No way, Britt sits there."

"Brittany's absent, so it's just for today Santana." Santana rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in defeat. Mr. Shuester nudged Rachel forward and the petite brunette slowly made her way to her temporary desk. Along the way she saw Puck, who gave her a wink. Finally, she sat at the desk and Santana slightly leaned farther away from Rachel. Rachel frowned and looked down at the desk.

"Um," She spoke softly; Santana whipped her head up and glared at Rachel. Rachel instinctively shuddered a little bit under the stare, it seemed so familiar…_too_ familiar. "I'm sorry about taking your friend's desk, Bri-"

"Listen Manhands Berry," Rachel frowned at the name and looked at her hands self-consciously. "I'm going to pretend to listen, you're going to do whatever you do, we don't talk to each other, and tomorrow we'll forget this ever happened." Rachel nodded dumbly and Santana leaned back in her chair, looking down at her paper again.

Rachel sighed and grabbed a notebook, looking up at the board to write notes. She kept finding herself looking at the girl next to her though, and she looked down at Santana's paper curiously. She raised an eyebrow when she found Santana drawing instead of writing notes. Santana felt Rachel staring and looked up again. Rachel quickly looked back to the front of the class.

Santana. She hadn't heard that name since she was seven years old, going onto eight. That was nine years ago. There was no way she'd meet the same Santana again. But that stare the Latina gave her was so painfully familiar, and whenever Rachel just glanced at her, she looked _so_ familiar.

The bell suddenly rang and Santana shot up from her desk and walked away as fast as she could, nearly knocking over a blond cheerio that was coming her way. The blond looked at Santana then at Rachel with a raised eyebrow before following after the girl. Rachel sighed and slowly put her things away when Puck walked up to her.

"Damn, what'd you do, other than sit in Brittany's seat?" Rachel sighed again as she picked up her backpack and followed Puck out the room.

"Who's Brittany? Santana…" Just _saying_ her name again brought back memories and feelings she thought she'd never feel again. "Santana didn't even let me finish saying her name."

"Oh, Brittany is Santana's best friend. The second they met they clicked." Puck emphasized with a snap and took Rachel's schedule out of her hands. Usually Rachel would yell at someone who did that, but she was too busy in thought to notice.

"Hey, you have lunch too. Sweet, I'll walk you over there." He looked back up from the paper and stopped when he noticed Rachel had stopped earlier. She had her brow furrowed and was biting her lip nervously.

"Um…When did Santana and Brittany meet?" Puck looked at her in confusion.

"Uh, does it matter when? I mean they met and-"

"Noah, _please_." There was a desperate tone to her voice that Puck just nodded and grabbed her elbow to lead her to the side of the hallway, out of the way of other students.

"Well, me and Brittany went to the same middle school, so we both met her around the same time. So we were like, nine." Rachel's throat suddenly felt dry. "She moved here from another place or something."

"Did she ever tell you where she was before she moved here?" Puck shrugged.

"Nah, she always avoided telling people about her past. Maybe Brittany knows, but there's no way anyone could ask her." Rachel suddenly felt sick and she couldn't move. She was right. That Santana was her Santana, the one she left years ago. Here she was again, but she obviously didn't recognize her at all, and that made Rachel feel worse. She unconsciously gripped her backpack tighter.

She had met Santana again; the only person who had made her feel loved other than her dead parents. Santana, who didn't remember her at all. No, she was going to make Santana remember her, one way or another.


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm glad everyone like the first chapter, and again, your reviews meant a lot! Anyway, I got three projects to do all in a week, so I might not update for a while. But! I left you with a much longer chapter in the meantime, so here it is.

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><p>She didn't know how long she stood there taking everything in, but next thing she knew Puck was waving a hand in front of her face. She blinked and looked up at worried eyes and looked around to see the hallway empty. Had she been standing there for that long?<p>

"Rachel?" Puck asked, taking his hand away from her in front of her face.

"Yes, Noah?" Rachel tried to sound as neutral as she could, but her voice broke slightly when she spoke again.

"You okay? You were kinda…out of it for a while." Rachel shrugged.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just remembered something and was caught off guard, that's all. No need for you to worry." Puck raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.

"Oh… what did you remember that made you look like you saw a freakin ghost?" _Ghost? More like the last person I'd expect to see…_ Rachel shook her head quickly and started turning around.

"It's nothing, really, you don't need to worry." _Shit._ She mentally scolded herself for saying anything that could make Puck ask questions. She had just met the guy, and she wasn't sure she was comfortable enough talking about her past with Santana to him. Puck looked unconvinced but stopped asking questions, and led the way to the lunchroom.

When they reached it, Puck gave Rachel's schedule back to her and left to go to a table full of other jocks. Rachel sighed and looked around to look for empty spots when she sees Mercedes standing up and waving to her. Rachel smiled and walked over to the table and when Mercedes is about to introduce her to everyone, a boy in designer clothes speaks up.

"What are you wearing?" Rachel looked down at her clothes, she didn't see anything wrong with her argyle sweaters, plaid skirts, knee high socks, and loafers. She liked them and they were comfortable.

"Um…clothes, like you." Rachel looked up and the boy just shook his head.

"No, your clothes and my clothes are nothing alike. You clothes are-"

"Just ignore Kurt, Rachel," Mercedes cuts in. Kurt just sighed in defeat and went back to his food. "Anyway, that's Kurt Hummel. He's a bit of a diva."

"Oh please Mercedes, I just have good fashion sense and like to show off my vocals. Plus, clothes are an essential." Mercedes just rolled her eyes with a smile before pointing to the other two people at the table.

"That's Tina," She pointed to a gothic Asian girl who waved at Rachel. "And Artie," A boy in a wheelchair waved at her as well before going back to his food. "And you met me already." Rachel nodded and when Mercedes sat down she did the same. She put her bags and looked around the cafeteria until she finally spotted Santana sitting with a group of cheerios.

Rachel frowned when she noticed none of them were eating, instead choosing to drink the same thing, whatever it was. Santana had her head in her hand glaring at the table top while all the other cheerios were talking to one another. The blond next to Santana sat close to the Latina, speaking softly compared to the rest of the table.

"Must be nice, huh?" Rachel snapped her head back at Mercedes.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"The Cheerios," Tina said. "They practically rule the school, other than the Jocks."

"Yeah, but some Jocks and Cheerios are in Glee Club." Artie said. Rachel suddenly remembered what Mercedes said in the bathroom. She did like singing, even before the death of her fathers, and she sung occasionally after they died. After she left the orphanage.

"Like who?" Rachel asked. Santana was on that cheerleading team called the Cheerios, right?

"Finn," Kurt said, looking at the boy with a rather dreamy look. Rachel turned around to see a freakishly tall boy with a childish face laughing with a few other boys. Mercedes elbowed Kurt, causing him to jump and break his gaze away from Finn to glare at her. "Anyway," He gave Mercedes a final glare before turning back to Rachel. "There's Matt, Mike, and Puck."

"Noah Puckerman?" Rachel asked, surprised. She didn't expect the Mohawked boy to be a singer.

"Yeah, you met him?" Artie asked and Rachel nodded.

"There's three Cheerios in Glee Club too," Tina said, looking at the table of Cheerios. "There's Quinn, Brittany, and Santana." Rachel felt herself freeze slightly at the mention of her name again.

"Santana Lopez?" Rachel asked more softly than she meant, hoping she remembered Santana's last name right.

"That's the one, she sleeps with a lot of the guys at school," Artie said. "Well, she hasn't slept with me, but whatever," Tina gave him a sympathetic smile and he smiled back.

"Hey, Mr. Schuester's looking for someone to be in Glee Club, maybe you should." Mercedes said and everyone else nodded. Rachel thought about it and looked at Santana again, who hadn't moved at all. Yes, she would join the club. If only to get closer to Santana again.

The rest of the lunch period was spent with Rachel talking to mostly Tina and Artie, since Mercedes and Kurt were busying gossiping about people she didn't even know. When the bell rang she got up and went to the rest of her classes. Some of the people she had met earlier were in some of them, including Puck, who each gave her a wave when they saw her. It was the last period when she saw Santana again.

The girl was sitting at her desk, and next to her was the blond cheerios from Spanish class. Santana, who had been looking down, looked up when Rachel walked in and through her arms up in frustration. People around her looked at her oddly and they all received a glare which made them look down in fear. Santana slammed her head down again and the blond cheerio looked up at Rachel. Luckily, class started and after the teacher introduced Rachel she was sent to an empty desk in the front of the room.

* * *

><p>"Fucking great. This is not my freakin day, fuck this…" Santana had been muttering the same mantra over and over until she looked up at her friend. "Can you fucking believe this Quinn?" Before Quinn could answer, Santana slammed her head down again. "No, you fucking can't. Cuz this is just fucking great, just not my-"<p>

"God, will you just shut up," Quinn hissed while looking at the front with a bored look. She honestly had enough of hearing Santana complain. The Latina had been complaining since Spanish class about the new girl. "I don't even know why you're making a big deal out of this."

"She took Britt's seat." Was all Santana said, and Quinn raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"So? Brittany's coming back tomorrow."

"Stupid ducks making her absent…" Quinn looked from the board to the new girl writing notes. Quinn didn't mind her so much, normally when someone tried to talk to Santana while she was pissed, Quinn thought they were stupid or just wanting to get punched. But she was new, so Quinn could forgive her just that once.

"Why do you hate her? I mean, she's kinda of a midget but…"

"She's a fucking smurf," Quinn's lip twitched upward at Santana's wording. "She's just…" Santana looked up from her desk and at the back of Rachel. "I just do." Was all she said before slamming her head down again. Quinn made a humming noise as she continued to stare at the short brunette, and couldn't help but think that things were going to get interesting.

* * *

><p>Rachel had to stop herself from shivers as she sat through the class. She knew Santana and her friend were staring, and she wished the class would end as each second passed by. When the bell rang, she let out a heavy sigh and looked at the door to see Santana charging out the door, with Quinn walking lazily behind her, not even bothering to try to keep up.<p>

Rachel slowly stood up and walked out of the class. It was only the first day, but she was exhausted more than she thought she would have. When she got to her locker, she looked at her phone to see a text from Shelby.

_I'm sorry baby, but I can't pick you up after school." _Rachel should have expected something like this already, especially since the reason she was in Lima was because her mother was never home, but it didn't make the feeling of disappointment and sadness go away.

She had met a small group of people, but she wasn't sure if she could get a ride from them. Looking at the text again, she put away a few things in her locker and closed it, preparing herself for the walk home.

As she walked through the slowly emptying halls, she heard the Mr. Schuester voice talking about music selections and the top artists. Rachel stopped and looked at the open doors ahead. Her knotted her eyebrows together as she thought about earlier, remembering Mercedes had said something about a Glee Club.

_Glee Club…_ Rachel thought about who was in that club when her eyes suddenly lit up. _Santana!_ Slowly she walked towards the open door and walked in to see Mr. Schuester at the white board about to write something down and multiple students sitting on chairs, half of which she had already met. Mercedes saw her and raised her hand in a wave.

"Hey Rachel!" Everyone turned from the board to the doorway and stared at Rachel. Rachel squirmed a bit under their gaze and looked at Santana, who had her head in her hands saying something rather angrily in Spanish, while Quinn just looked amused. Mr. Schuester looked at Rachel and smiled warmly at her.

"Hey, Rachel." He greeted, putting the marker down and walking over to her.

"Hello, ." She greeted, looking up at him and smiled warmly.

"Mr. Schue is fine," He said and looked at Mercedes. "So, I heard you were interested in Glee Club?" He looked back down at Rachel, and she looked back at Santana, who had a scowl on her face and glaring at the floor.

"Yes," She said and looked back up at Mr. Schuester with a wide smile. Maybe getting to Santana was going to be easier than she thought. "Yes, I am."

"Great!" Mr. Schuester smiled widely when heard Rachel's answer, and then walked over to the piano. "Is there something you would like to sing, or should I pick?"

"Um," Rachel went through her head as she thought of songs she could sing, before she smiled widely. "No, it's okay, I have something in mind," Mr. Schuester nodded and Rachel went to the front of the choir room. "It's On My Way To You by Barbra Streisand." Rachel took a deep breath began singing, looking at Santana quickly before looking at everyone else. As she sang half of the club looked shocked at the strong voice coming out of Rachel's small body, while the other half looked indifferent.

Rachel looked at Santana again, to find her staring at her wide-eyed. Their eyes locked with each other and they held it for a few seconds before Santana looked down again with a scowl. Rachel looked up to see Mercedes trying to smile widely but her mouth was twitching downward with jealousy every once in a while, along with Kurt. She looked at Puck, who was just grinning and gave her a thumbs up. When the song ended Mr. Schuester jumped up in excitement as he clapped, causing the rest to clap with him.

"Rachel, that was great!" Rachel muttered a thank you as she looked down at the ground. "Why don't you sit next to Finn for now?" Rachel looked to where Mr. Schuester pointed and saw the tall boy from before. Rachel nodded and made her way over there, and when she sat down Finn turned to her with a dopey grin.

"So, you're name's Rachel?" Finn asked, and Rachel nodded. "That's cool, I'm Finn Hudson."

"It's nice to meet you, Finn." Rachel said, and Finn nodded. They were silent for a few moments, before Finn turned to her again.

"Hey, you know, you totally got a good voice. We should be, like, leads together." Rachel was about to respond, but Finn raised his hand. "Mr. Schue?" Mr. Schuester turned around and smiled at the boy.

"Yes, Finn?"

"I think me and Rachel should be the leads." Rachel wanted to slap the boy. She wasn't interested in the singing; she could do that at home. The only reason she joined was because Santana was in it, and she wasn't sure she could discreetly watch the Latina if she was singing in front of everyone with Finn and having them all stare at her. Rachel couldn't help but sink further in her seat and scowl at the idea.

Apparently, Mr. Schuester didn't get the hint from her expression, and his face lit up.

"That's a wonderful idea Finn," Finn nodded and grinned back at Rachel. "Does everyone else think so?" The rest of the Glee club nodded, a few grumbled at the fact that they weren't lead, but it was pretty much unanimous. "Great! Well, congratulations Rachel." Rachel forced a smile at the teacher, and he went back to the board talking about music selections, and Finn attempting small talk nearly all during the period.

When the bell rang she stood up, and Finn quickly did the same. She knew he was tall, but she didn't think he was _that_ much of a giant until she stood next to him, and she instinctively took a step back. Finn, though, didn't seem to notice and took a step forward again.

"So, Rachel," He said, and Rachel smiled slightly. "Do you wanna hang out later, and work on some songs together? I think we'd be awesome."

"I actually have to get home, so I'll just see you tomorrow. Bye, Finn." She turned around and began walking towards the door.

"Wait, are you sure? Maybe I can give you a ride." He called back, but Rachel had already gone through the door and was walking away quickly. When she turned the corner she stopped walking to collect herself for a bit when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She jumped and turned around, then let out a sigh of relief to see it was Puck.

"Oh, it's just you…" Puck grinned and looked back to see Finn walking the opposite way from them.

"I kinda felt bad for you when Hudson didn't take the hint," Puck grinned and laughed lightly. "I told him you went the other way and he's over there looking for you. I wonder how long he'll look."

"That wasn't nice."

"Aw c'mon, don't be lame. You know you wanna laugh." Rachel couldn't help but grin.

"Well, it _is _slightly funny."

"See?" Puck grabbed his keys from his pocket and held them out in front of her. "Need a ride?" Rachel nodded and they went to the parking lot, to Puck's car. After they settled in the car and Rachel told him directions to her house, they sat in comfortable silence until Puck spoke up.

"So," He said, looking at Rachel out of the corner of his eye. "Where'd you move here from?"

"New York." Puck let out a whistle.

"Damn, I feel bad for you then." Rachel looked at him questioningly.

"Why?"

"Cuz to go from an awesome city like New York, to freaking Lima, Ohio, has gotta suck," Rachel just shrugged and looked out the window. "Was New York cool?" Rachel sighed and leaned her head against the window. She supposed living in a famous city did have its perks, but the one thing she wanted out of everything was a family.

She couldn't say she snuck out with friends to clubs, since she never had many friends. She did at times go to the landmark places New York was known for when she went on walks, and a few places tourists didn't know about. But the city also took away her only living relative, Shelby.

She remembered her first few years after Shelby picked her up from the orphanage, she was around, and acting like the mother Rachel never had. But slowly she was around less and less, and soon enough Rachel was alone again. And that time, she didn't have Santana.

"It was okay." Puck frowned and but didn't say anything else, causing the rest of the drive to be in silence. When they reached Rachel's house and the she made to leave, Puck gently grabbed her arm, causing her stop and look up.

"You got a phone?" Rachel nodded and he held out his hand. Hesitantly, she took it out and gave it to him.

"Do you even know how to-" Puck gave her back her cell phone with a grin and she looked to see his name in her phonebook. "Well, that was fast."

"Text me later today, or I'll bug you about it tomorrow." Rachel smiled and nodded.

"Okay, only because I don't want you to bother me nonstop tomorrow, because that would just be annoying," Puck let go of her arm and Rachel slid out of her seat. "Bye, Noah, thanks for the ride." Puck nodded and watched as Rachel walked to her front door and made it safely inside. As soon as she was inside he started to drive away from her house, making sure to get home as fast as he could and text Rachel. She hadn't said anything, but he knew there was something about her, and he was going to find out.

Rachel closed the door behind her and leaned against it for a few seconds, closing her eyes. She opened her eyes again and ran up the stairs, two steps at a time. When she walked to her bedroom she recklessly threw her backpack on her bed and went straight for the drawer. She fell on her knees and opened the bottom drawer, digging through the clothes until she found what she was looking for. Standing up, she held the small yellow ball in both her hands, as if it was made of glass instead of rubber.

She laid down on her bed and brought the ball up to the air, turning in her hand to look at all the stars. Suddenly, her eyes started stinging and she felt wetness run down her cheeks. She brought her free hand up, wiped her cheek, then held it in front of her face to see her fingertips wet, surprised she had started crying.

She closed her eyes and brought the ball down on her lips, gently kissing it. Suddenly her body shook as she sobbed quietly, and she turned on her side, away from the door. She curled herself up in a ball and gripped the ball in one hand and the pillow in the other, crying herself to sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Sorry for the late update, this is long overdue. I had some internet troubles and couldn't post it faster, but here it is and hopefully all the next chapters won't take so long to update.

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><p>When Rachel woke up, she was sore and her nose was dry, and she felt like shit. She slowly sat up and looked out her window to see the sun starting to set. Downstairs she heard noises coming from the kitchen and knew her mother was home. She gave the yellow ball one last look before she walked back to her drawer and placed it in its place.<p>

Standing up, she stretched out as she walked out the door and downstairs. Shelby was in the kitchen cooking breakfast, humming softly as she stirred a pan of soup. Rachel sat at the table placed her head down on the table with a groan, causing Shelby to look behind her.

"Hey honey, how was school?"

"Fine," Rachel said, not sure exactly how she could explain the day to anyone. "The classes were okay, and some of the students were pleasant." Shelby smiled and looked back at the food.

"I'm sorry about earlier today, something came up and I couldn't get out of it, but I'm making your favorite vegan soup." Rachel looked up and smiled at Shelby, who frowned as soon as she saw Rachel's face. "Are you okay? Nothing bad happened at school, right?" Rachel looked confused for a second before she remembered how she fell asleep. _Crap_. She mentally scolded herself and forced a smile.

"Everything's fine, I'm going to wash up for dinner, I'll be right back." With that she got up and went back upstairs. She went to her room and sat down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Her mother didn't need to know, right? Rachel thought about telling Shelby about the day, but she wasn't sure if she was the person she needed to talk to.

Rachel groaned and fell back on her bed. She needed to get Santana to remember her, but she couldn't do it alone, she just didn't know how. She needed someone who she could tell everything, without worrying about them being biased, spreading rumors at school, or try to take matters in their own hands.

She thought through all the people she had met at school, and none seemed a good idea. But then she thought of one person, and she sat up. Should she? Rachel looked at her phone, which was carelessly tossed on her bed next to her backpack. She didn't have to worry about getting Puck's number, he had already put it in there, and he seemed like a reliable person.

Slowly, she grabbed it and went to his name. She grinned as she looked at what he put his name as. _Noah._ She took a deep breath and texted him. When she was done, Shelby called her down and she quickly washed up before going downstairs to eat dinner.

* * *

><p>Rachel walked back to her bedroom after dinner and changed before flopping down on her bed, exhausted. She had found out that they wanted Shelby to help with the music classes and clubs after school, so Rachel coming home to find the house empty was soon going to be a common occurrence. Rachel was happy for Shelby, she really was, she just wished she had got to spend some more time with her mother after they left New York, but it seemed some things never changed.<p>

A sudden vibration caused Rachel to jump and she grabbed her phone to see three texts from Puck. She smiled as she read each one, including hers.

_Hello Noah, I apologize for the late text, however here it is just like you wanted. –R_

_Hey Rachel wat r u up to?_

Rachel couldn't help but roll her eyes at the text talk.

_Well txt me when u get this I'll probably be awake_

Rachel quickly responded to Puck and stared at the ceiling waiting when she was done. Soon, she felt her phone vibrate in her hand and she looked at the text.

_Wats up my hot jew bro? You feeling okay?_

_Of course I am, Noah. What do you mean?_

_U just look like u had a lot on ur mind 2day. _

Rachel breath got caught in her throat as she stared at the text. Had she been that obvious?

_If I tell you, will you promise not to tell anyone else? I'm serious Noah._

_I promise._

It was all she got back from Puck, and Rachel closed her eyes and sighed. Should she tell him? She honestly wasn't sure if that was the best idea ever, but she needed to tell _someone_ or she else she would mess something up, and she just knew she would. Her phone vibrated again and she looked at the text from Puck.

_Meet me the football stands before Glee._

Rachel sighed and before she knew it she responded back.

_Okay._

She stared up at the ceiling tiredly and closed her eyes, wondering how she was going to get Santana to remember her.

* * *

><p>The next day, she found out who Brittany was. She had seen the tall blond walking with Santana in the halls, and when she looked down at their hands she saw their pinkies intertwined, causing her heart to break a little bit. Santana looked at her direction and scowled before looking straight ahead again, with Brittany smiling happily being oblivious.<p>

Rachel went through the rest of the day practically the same, including the facial slushy and name calling on Santana's part, and after the last period she and Puck went to the football stands, which were empty. They sat down and Rachel looked at her phone and frowned at the time.

"Noah, must we do this before Glee? I hardly doubt that I could fit what you want me to say in less than five minutes, which is when Glee starts." She looked up to see Puck looking at her seriously.

"Glee can wait, it's just one day anyway. Besides," Puck pointed at himself and grinned. "It's time you talk to your bro." Rachel sighed and unconsciously fixed her skirt.

"I don't know where to start…" Puck nodded.

"How about when you freaked out Santana?" Rachel swallowed harshly and opened her mouth, before closing it again. After a few moments of collecting her thoughts, she opened her mouth again.

"I…me and Santana…we've met…already…"

"Yesterday, right?" Rachel shook her head.

"No, before. When we were younger around eight, we had met each other and were friends. But then I had to leave, and I guess Santana left from that place quickly after me," Rachel smiled sadly. "I guess she met her Goldilocks already…"

"Shit, wait, you and Santana were friends?" Rachel nodded and Puck furrowed his eyebrows together. "It didn't look that way when you guys met again then…" Puck said recalling watching Santana and Rachel in Spanish class.

"She doesn't remember me…" Rachel looked up, her eyes watery. "How do I make her remember me?" She sounded and looked devastated and Puck couldn't help but be saddened too. "I can't do this alone…I don't even know how to do this…" Rachel looked down again and Puck looked out at the empty football field.

"Why don't you just tell her?" Rachel shook her head.

"No, I don't want to rush everything. She already hates me anyway…" Puck nodded and looked at Rachel.

"I'll help." Rachel looked up at Puck and smiled.

"Thank you, Noah."She looked back down and they sat in silence. He didn't know how long they sat there but next thing they both knew the bell rang and Rachel shot up. "Glee Club!" Puck laughed and looked at the time on his phone.

"Sorry bro, we kind of missed it." Rachel looked at her own phone and gasped.

"This is all your fault! You should have told me the time. I do not like missing things I'm committed to!" Puck raised an eyebrow and she crossed her arms and sat down again. "And I couldn't see Santana…" Puck laughed and gently punched Rachel's shoulder.

"No worries, if you wanna see Santana just stay out here." Rachel looked at him questioningly but did as told. Sure enough, a group of Cheerios walked out to the field and Rachel saw Santana in between Quinn and Brittany.

"Oh…" Rachel said, staring at Santana still.

"Fucking love those skirts. Makes their ass look good." Rachel looked away from Santana and smacked the back of Puck's head.

"Noah!" Puck rubbed his head and looked at her.

"Ow!" Puck pouted as he crossed his arms. "Damn, I was just staring at their ass." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Yes, _just _staring at their ass." Puck grinned at her and looked lower down her body.

"You have a good ass too, now if you just get rid of those damn skirts." Rachel slightly scooted away from Puck, who laughed and looked back at the Cheerios. "Don't worry, you're too much of my bro."

"I'm so glad then." Rachel said sarcastically and looked back up at Santana. The coach suddenly walked to the field with a blow horn and began yelling harsh things that would lower anyone's self-esteem. Rachel scowled as she watched the coach yell at the Cheerios, which most looked afraid and tired as she barked orders. "Who's that? She seems horrible."

"That's Sue Sylvester. Watch out for her." Rachel nodded and watched as they went into the pyramid. She watched Quinn on top, with both Santana and Brittany under her. Rachel sighed and stood up.

"I have to get going, besides, I believe you have football practice the same time as cheerleading practice." Puck blinked and looked up at Rachel before suddenly jumping on his feet and nearly falling down the bleachers.

"Shit! I was too busy staring at their ass," Puck started down the stands and yelled back at Rachel. "See ya, we'll talk later today, got it?"

"Okay." Rachel replied back as Puck ran down the stands and towards the boys locker room. She looked at Santana one last time before walking to the parking lot.

* * *

><p>Quinn looked up from her place at the top of the pyramid and saw Rachel walking down the bleachers, heading towards the parking lot. She raised an eyebrow at the girl, and looked down at Santana for a second before looking up.<p>

"Hey, S, RuPaul's straight ahead." Santana's head snapped up and she groaned when she saw her.

"Fuck, she's stalking me."

"Hey, San, that's new girl. She's kinda hot." Santana groaned again and looked at Brittany.

"Not now, B." Brittany frowned but nodded, muttering a "but she is" under her breath

* * *

><p>Rachel drove home to the empty house and went straight to her bedroom yet again. She wondered if this was going to be an everyday thing, and sighed. Deciding having nothing better to do, she did her homework and sang to her favorite Barbra Streisand songs. It wasn't until it was late at night that her phone rang and she answered to Puck's voice.<p>

"Hey, you busy over the weekend?" She could hear another distant noise in the background, which she guessed was the tv after she heard the distant gunshots.

"No, and what is that noise?"

"What noise? I'm play Call of Duty, so I don't know what noise you're talking about." Rachel sighed, she never understood the appeal of video games.

"Never mind."

"Meet me tomorrow at my house, and we'll think of how deal with Santana," Rachel opened her mouth to reply but Puck cut her off. "Shit, gotta go, my mom's home. See ya." Rachel heard the phone click and kept it up against her ear long after Puck had disconnected. Finally, she lowered it and bit her lip. She wasn't sure what Puck had in mind, but she hoped she wasn't going to regret telling him the bit of her past she did.

She shook the thoughts from her head though, and went downstairs to tell Shelby that her friend had asked her to go to his house. Shelby was uncertain at first, since it was a boy, but Rachel quickly assured her he was just her friend. Shelby finally agreed, and Rachel thanked her before going upstairs to sleep.

The next morning, Rachel walked to her dresser and stared at her phone, which was open to a text from Puck.

_Meet me my place at noon._

She looked at the address after his text and she went through her clothes. After looking through everything, she had finally chosen for jeans and a plain shirt. She then went downstairs to see Shelby at the kitchen table reading. As Rachel entered the room, Shelby looked up and smiled, pointing at the already made breakfast.

"Morning kiddo," Shelby said as Rachel brought her plate over to the table. "You're dressed nice."

"I'm seeing a friend. I told you yesterday, remember?" Shelby looked confused for a few moments before groaning and rubbing her eyes.

"Right, I'm sorry it's just a lot is on my mind right now."

"It's fine." Rachel said with a shrug as she ate her food. She was used to this sort of thing, but it still took everything she had not to remember how her dads never forgot anything she told them. After talking about them settling into Lima, she excused herself to finish getting ready before heading out to Puck's house.

His house was small like hers, and she wondered if he also had just as small of a family as she did. Slowly walked to the door, and rang the doorbell. Soon a little girl opened the door, and Rachel thought she looked like a younger, female version of Puck. The girl looked up at Rachel and smiled brightly.

"Hi, who are you?"

"Hello, my name is Rachel Berry. What's your name?" Rachel asked, smiling back down at her.

"Melanie, are you Noah's friend?"

"Yes, is he home? If not I could just-" But Rachel was interrupted by a voice she recognized farther in the house.

"Mel, is that Rachel?"

"Yeah." Soon after her response, Puck appeared in the doorway. The second he looked at Rachel, he gaped at her and Rachel crossed her arms.

"Is there something you wish to tell me, Noah?"

"I thought your friends called you Puck." Puck waved off Melanie with his hand, and she stomped her foot in frustration.

"Damn. You look hot Berry. You should wear that more often." Rachel rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"Well, I don't have too many of these kinds of clothes, but I thought since it was our first official time hanging out at one of our houses, and it's outside of school, I'd commemorate this with something I usually don't wear."

"Noah, she talks a lot." Puck laughed and affectionately messed up his sister's hair, causing her to try and slap his hand away.

"You got that right, little sis," Rachel scowled at him and before she could open her mouth to say anything else he nodded his head towards the house. "C'mon, let's go to my room." Rachel nodded and they both went up to his room, which to Rachel's surprise, was cleaner than she thought.

"So, why did we meet at your house?" Puck walked to his xbox in front of his bed, and leaned back against the bed. He patted the floor and waited until Rachel sat down next to him before handing her the controller.

"Ever played Call of Duty?"

"No, I don't play video games. I have see no purpose in playing them, and _why _are we even playing them?" Puck looked at her as if she had grown two heads.

"Seriously? Not one video game?" Rachel shook her head and Puck sighed. "Dude, you seriously need to play some shooter games if we're gonna be bros. And we're gonna play games while we think of ways to get Santana to remember you."

"Oh, okay, I guess…" Puck shrugged, and the rest of the day was spent with him teaching Rachel how to play Call of Duty. After dying early more times than she could count, she had finally got the hang of it, and as much as she hated to admit it, she enjoyed it a little bit. Who knew shooting virtual people was so much fun? She had also found out she an amazing sniper, much to Puck's amazement and joy.

Puck's idea of helping her getting Santana to remember her was to "leave it to the Puckster", much to Rachel's annoyance. He had also told her to expect to see Santana more in school, whatever that meant, but after failed attempts to get him to actually include Rachel in his plans, she gave up asking.

"Want some?" Rachel looked at the drink and frowned at the beer in his hand.

"No, I don't drink alcohol." Puck shrugged and opened the can, drinking it. Rachel shivered as she watched him, wondering how he could even like alcohol. Puck sensed her watching and looked at her confused.

"What?" Rachel just shrugged and shook her head.

"Nothing." Puck gave her one wary look before looking back at the tv and continuing to play the game. When it was getting late Rachel excused herself and declined Puck's offer to stay for dinner, saying he probably didn't have a vegan friendly food at his home. Saying goodbye, she left and went home, and went straight to her home, collapsing on the bed and falling asleep.

Sunday was spent the same way, with her going to Puck's house to play Call of Duty, except that day Puck had invited Mike over for her to "get to know more of the guys", as Puck had put it. By the middle of the day, Puck was laying on his bed while Rachel played with Mike, who raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"She beat me." Was all he said, and Puck looked up with a grin.

"I train my bro well." Rachel only rolled her eyes and turned her head to glare at him.

"You owe me a broadway musicals marathon for this." Puck looked horrified and opened his mouth to object, but closed it again. He leaned closer and whispered in her ear low enough for just her to hear.

"I can't wait until you get to Santana and you can watch stupid musicals with _her_ instead." Rachel only sighed and tried to punch him in the arm, but Puck easily dodged it. The rest of the day ended the same, and Puck walked her to the door.

"Well, bye Noah."

"See ya, and just wait until tomorrow at school, that's when thing's will really start."

"Are you trying to be cryptic? Because I can tell you now it never does any good, other than annoy people." Puck shrugged.

"Whatever, shit's just starting, just you wait."


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Thank you all for the reviews, again, and just liked I said, I made sure not to make you all wait so long for the next chapter. So, here it is, enjoy.

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><p>Puck seemed to keep his promise the next day, for it certainly was the start of, well, something. Whatever that something was, Rachel didn't know yet. She had barely gotten to her locker when Puck came out of nowhere and tapped her shoulder. When she turned around he held up a rubber yellow duck with both of his hands.<p>

She looked at him confusingly before taking it in her own. Before she could ask anything, he left without a word, leaving her there looking very much like a lost and confused puppy. She slowly turned back around to her locker and opened it with one hand. She quickly got her things, and when she closed it Brittany stood there with a childish smile, causing Rachel to jump back in surprise.

"I'm Brittany, you're Rachel and you're hot, is that a duck?" Rachel blinked and nodded. Brittany's face lit up. "Puck said you could give me it."

"Why do you want it?" Brittany frowned and momentarily looked sad, making Rachel regret ever asking her.

"I think Lord Tubbington killed it…I think he's been reading my diary again and got jealous because I talked about how much I like baths with the ducks…"

"Who's Lord Tubbington?"

"Oh, my cat. He's nice, just sneaky and likes reading my diary." Rachel gaped at the girl, who innocently smiled at Rachel, and pointed at the duck. "Can I have her?" Rachel looked at the duck, and nodded, but before she could give it to Brittany, Santana came towards Rachel, looking very angry.

"B, what the hell you doing with Manhands?" Rachel looked at Santana with a hurt expression, which Brittany caught and frowned at Santana.

"You're being mean again, you should apologize." Santana scoffed.

"Why, it's just RuPaul." Santana glared at Rachel, who took an unconscious step towards the lockers. "What are you even doing with her?" Santana asked, looking away from Rachel and to Brittany. Brittany's face lit up again and she pointed to the duck that was still in Rachel's hand.

"She's giving me a new ducky, remember what happened to the last one?" Santana nodded and Brittany looked back at Rachel. "Thanks, Rachy."

"Rachy?" Santana raised an eyebrow at the nickname, and Rachel furrowed her eyebrows together at the new name.

"Yup," Brittany said brightly. "You should thank her too!" Santana's eyes widened and Brittany looked at her brightly, causing Santana to curse whatever made her never able to say no to the dancer. Santana suddenly had a feeling of déjà vu, and felt as though Brittany wasn't the only girl Santana was never able to say no to. As she felt the odd feeling, she turned towards Rachel and nodded.

"Thanks, Manhands…" She mumbled distractedly, and Rachel stood up straight with a smile, making Santana feel the feeling more.

"It's no problem Santana. I would always be more than happy to help either you or Brittany, or Puck, or even anyone in Glee Club. After all, being a helpful person does make things better in the-" Santana suddenly snapped out of her daze and scowled at Rachel.

"Just shut up and give the damn duck." Rachel jumped at the sudden outburst from Santana and slowly lifted her hand up to Santana. Santana rolled her eyes and grabbed the duck, her fingertips lightly grazing Rachel's hand. They both quickly pulled their hands back towards them, causing the rubber duck to fall to the ground.

"Ducky!" Brittany gasped, quickly bending down to collect the duck, though neither girl seemed to notice Brittany, and just stared at each other. Brittany stood back up again and looked between the two, confused, before looking in front of her and waving. "Hi Quinn." Santana whipped her head towards the direction Brittany was waving to and indeed, there was Quinn with another one of her usually smug grins.

"The fuck? How long have you been there?" Santana snapped, and Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"Long enough," Was all she said, causing Santana to panic a little bit. Quinn looked at Rachel for a second before smiling at Brittany. "Hey, Brittany."

"Whatever, I've hung around the midget long enough, let's just go." Santana wrapped her pinkie around Brittany and began turning away when she called back to Quinn. "You coming, Q?"

"I'll catch up." Santana just scoffed and muttered a "whatever" as she walked off with Brittany happily talking about ducks. Quinn watched them go for a few seconds before looking at Rachel, and Rachel looked at the ground.

"You're Quinn Fabray, right?" Quinn stepped directly in front of Rachel, making Rachel slam herself against the locker.

"Listen up," Quinn said, crossing her arms. "Do you know Santana or something?" Rachel bit her lip before shaking her head.

"No…why?"

"Because she's been acting weird around you. And it's not like how she acts around Brittany, it's something different." Rachel looked up at Quinn, wanting to know more.

"What does she do around me?" Quinn shrugged.

"The usual weird stuff?" Rachel frowned in frustration at Quinn's words, but Quinn just sighed and took a step back.

"It's probably nothing, I shouldn't even care so much after all the shit she's put me through. See you around, um…" Quinn furrowed her eyebrows as she thought of the new girl's name. She knew she should know at least a part of the girl's name, considering Rachel was not only in some of her classes, but also in Glee with her.

"Rachel Berry." Quinn nodded.

"Right, see ya." With that, Quinn walked away, finally leaving Rachel to herself. Rachel closed her eyes and sighed, trying to collect herself before walking off to the direction of her first period class. She didn't get far though, because soon enough a slushy hit her and she heard laughing around her.

"Fuck…" She muttered, quickly turning around and heading to the bathroom. Luckily, she brought a spare shirt, and she quickly realized this was something that was going to be a daily occurrence.

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><p>The first few classes went by slowly, until it was time for Spanish class at least. Rachel walked in to see Santana in her seat with Brittany, laughing lightly at something she had said. Rachel couldn't help but stare at the Latina, she just looked so beautiful when she wasn't wearing her usual scowl. Santana felt her staring and looked at Rachel, and her small smile quickly turned to a frown. She looked down at the desk and began rolling her pencil back and forth. Brittany looked up and waved happily at Rachel, who returned it with a much smaller one. Rachel walked to Mr. Schuester and cleared her throat, making him look up from his desk.<p>

"Mr. Schue, Brittany is back and obviously has taken back her seat, so where should I sit?" Mr. Schuester grabbed a piece of paper with seating charts and pointed to a seat in the middle.

"There's no one sitting next to Puck, right there at the end." Rachel nodded and walked to the seat, and Puck grinned at her.

"Hey, bro, so how did you like my surprise this morning?"

"I didn't know Brittany was that…fascinated with ducks…" Puck nodded.

"Yup, she loves them, no one knows why. Oh, and be ready for more surprises." Rachel sighed, and quietly paid attention the rest of the period. The rest of the day went without many "suprises" until lunch, when Rachel was sitting at the table with Mercedes, Artie, Kurt, and Tina. Brittany came up and hugged Rachel from behind, causing the small brunette to jump.

"Rachy!" Rachel looked up to see Brittany looking down at her sadly, tears threatening to spill.

"Brittany, what's wrong?" The others at the table looked up in alarm, the blond dancer was usually bright cheery, so to see her cry was a shock.

"Did something happen?" Kurt asked, confused.

"Yeah, hey where's Santana, isn't she usually with you?" Mercedes asked, looking around for the said girl. Brittany just sat down next to Rachel, never letting go.

"S and Q are looking for Ducky…" Everyone except Rachel looked at each other, confused.

"Ducky?" They said in unison. Brittany just nodded, and Rachel instantly looked at Puck, who was making his way over to the table.

"Hey, Brittany, what's wrong, did something happen?" He asked, a slightly worried tone in his voice, and Rachel just had to roll her eyes.

"She just lost the duck, but I'm sure you have no idea where it is, Noah." Puck just gave her a grin before looking around.

"Nope, why don't I look for it."

"Rachy, look for Ducky." Rachel sighed and nodded, getting up with a nearly crying Brittany and began walking down a hall randomly.

"Do you remember where you last to put it?" Brittany looked up in thought before looking at Rachel again.

"Choir Room." Rachel nodded and they walked to the room, where they met up with Santana _again_. Santana had been looking under the row of chairs and she looked up and automatically groaned.

"Seriously Manhands? I know I'm awesome but you don't have to stalk me." Rachel raised an eyebrow at Santana.

"Actually, Santana, I'm here with Brittany, not stalking you," Rachel shrugged. "Nice to know how bad your ego is, though." Santana would have actually laughed at the reply, if it wasn't Rachel Manhands Berry she was talking to. Santana just rolled her eyes and began looking again.

"Whatever, Smartass, now help me look." Rachel nodded and the two began working together, and Rachel thought it was kind of nice, even if Santana was refusing to talk or look at her. Every time Rachel had tried to strike up small talk, Santana would ignore her, and Brittany was waiting patiently by twirling herself around being oblivious.

Finally, Rachel and Santana looked at each other and shook their heads and looked at Brittany. Santana sighed and walked up to Brittany, who stopped spinning and smiled at her.

"Hey San, did you find Ducky?" Santana shook her head.

"Sorry Britt, we found nothing…" Brittany frowned and nodded. She looked at Rachel and shrugged.

"Okay. Thanks for looking, Rachy." Rachel nodded and Santana left the two out of the room without a word. Rachel walked to one of the chairs, and sat down wordlessly, thinking about all her encounters with Santana she had just that day. She sighed, and jumped when the bell rang, and quickly went to her next class.

The rest of the day went by uneventful, even the only other class Rachel had with Santana went by without any disturbance. Santana didn't look at her at all, and Rachel went immediately went to her seat. As soon as the bell rang, Santana quickly walked out again, and again, Quinn walked behind lazily. Rachel sighed and got up and went to her locker. As she went through her book, she felt someone walk up to her and looked up to see Finn.

"Hey Rachel." He said with the usual dopey grin.

"Hello, Finn, is there something you want?" Rachel asked, going back to her books.

"Yeah, I was wondering if you want to walk to Glee Club together." Rachel contemplated it, since she knew what the boy was trying to do. He wasn't exactly being subtle her first day when he kept talking to her, but walking with him would just be something innocent, something she could o with anyone. Finally, she looked up and nodded as she closed her locker, and he grinned. The two began walking to school and Rachel was suddenly self-conscious on how close Finn was.

"So, um, how's football?" Rachel really didn't care about the sport, but she hoped making small talk would get the uncomfortable feeling away. But Finn grinned again and walked closer to her.

"It's good. Hey, what do you think Mr. Schue is doing for Glee today? If it's duets I hope I get paired with you, we'd be awesome." Rachel saw the always open door and sighed in relief. Once they reached the doors she stopped outside them and turned around to look at Finn.

"Finn, I think we should just be friends, and nothing else." Finn looked down confused and was silent for a moment before speaking up again.

"But we are friends." Rachel nodded.

"Yes, but that's all we could be." Finn still looked confused and Rachel cursed in her head, thinking she couldn't be more clearer. Finn opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

"That means she doesn't want you in her pants, Frankenteen." They turned their heads to see Santana glaring at both of them with a still sad Brittany behind her. "Now movie it, and take your stupid soap drama somewhere else."

"Don't talk to Rachel like that." Finn said, putting his large hand on her shoulder. Santana scowled up at him.

"I'm talking to _you_. I already had enough talking to Manhands, now move it." When Finn didn't move, Santana started to push her way between them, but Finn backed off before Santana could touch him. Rachel, however, stayed and felt Santana brush up against her, and they both shivered. Santana led Brittany to a far seat, and they wordlessly sat down. Rachel sighed and stepped in the room as well, with Finn following behind her. Rachel sat at the other end of the room, with Finn sitting next to her, glaring at Santana. Soon the rest of Glee Club walked in and then came Mr. Schuester, late as usual. As he came in he held a piece of paper and turned to everyone.

"Well, I have an assignment for you guys," Everyone became quiet as they waited for him to explain. He clapped his hands together with a smile. "Duets."

"Do we get to pick our partners?" Finn asked, and Rachel just knew what he was thinking.

"Nope," Mr. Schuester said and turned looked at the paper. "Everyone's pairing is here. I'll put it down on the piano. I'll just let you guys think of something with your partner, so that's really all we're doing today." With that he said his goodbye and left the room, saying something about needing to grade late homework and tests. Finn was the first to get up and check the paper, and frowned.

"Man, I don't have Rachel…" He turned around and looked at Rachel, who was slowly getting up with everyone else. "Maybe I can talk to Mr. Schue for us." Rachel sighed.

"It's fine, Finn. I'll just deal with whatever partner Mr. Schuester gave us, as you should do the same." Finn frowned and muttered a "fine" unhappily as he walked to Tina. Rachel ignored him and when she looked at the paper, her eyes widened. Next to her, she heard a soft laugh and looked up at Puck, who was looking all too happy with the outcome.

"Damn, I wonder how that happened."

"Yeah, I wonder." Rachel said sarcastically, and she heard Santana on the other side of the piano.

"Oh, hells no." Santana looked up at Rachel and glared at her.

"But Santana, we can't do anything about the partners," Puck said. "Sucks, huh?" Santana raised an eyebrow at him.

"What the fuck you smiling at?" Puck just shrugged, his grin never falling.

"Nothing." Was all he said before looking at the paper and walking towards his partner. Santana walked around everyone and grabbed Rachel's arm, dragging her to the corner of the room before talking to her quietly.

"Here's the deal, we're just sticking around for the damn song. That's all. Got it?" Rachel nodded and Santana continued. "Great, tomorrow we'll work on it, after Glee." With that, she took Brittany, who was talking with Artie, and they walked out of the room, leaving a confused Artie.

Since Santana was gone, and everyone else was leaving as well, Rachel decided to go home. When she got into her car, a huge grin spread across her face.

Things were going better than she thought.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: **A lot of things happen in this chapter and it finally goes more fast paced from here on out, I think. So for the people that don't like waiting for the major stuff to happen, this would be good. There's also more of other characters in this chapter with Rachel. Oh, and I know I keep saying this, but all your reviews mean a lot and they keep me writing, so thank you everyone.

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><p><em>Santana walked into her new bedroom behind her new brother, Felix. He walked around the room, doing last minute organizing and cleaning. Santana carried her tiny suitcase bag filled with the little things that she ever had owned and pushed it up onto the bed. She opened it and took out her clothes, all of which didn't even last a week. Felix walked over and saw the clothes, holding out his hand to take them.<em>

"_Ma's probably gonna buy you new stuff." He said, and she just nodded, holding up her clothes for him to take._

"_Am I ever going to see my friends again?" She knew she had no friends, more like just one friend. Just _her_. And Santana didn't know if she could handle never seeing the only friend she had._

"_Probably not," Felix said as he opened each shelve of the dresser and put the clothes in. "You're probably never going to see anyone from that place again," Felix shrugged and when he finished he stood up and walked to Santana. "Might as well forget about it."_

"_But…" Felix knelt down and put his hand on her shoulder._

"_This is your family, now. And as much as I didn't plan to have a little sis, I got one," He smiled lightly. "I'm your hermano now, and this is your new life. So just forget everything from before." Santana frowned and he ruffled her hair. Yes, she thought bitterly, might as well forget the past. Felix was right, this was her new life, and everyone at the orphanage didn't matter anymore, they might as well be erased from her mind. And that's what she was going to do, forget everyone. Completely._

Santana woke up and groaned as she turned her head and looked at the clock, which read two in the morning. She cursed as she turned over and stared at the wall. She had completely forgotten about that day, when she first arrived at the Lopez house. She had completely forgotten about the orphanage too, just like she promised herself years ago. Why was she remembering it now? Santana sighed and closed her eyes, trying to get at least some sleep.

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><p>Rachel walked into school energized and ready for the day; after all, today was when she got to work with Santana, and anything involving Santana would brighten Rachel's day. Rachel walked to her locker to see Puck leaning against it, looking across the hall at something with a grin on his face. Rachel walked up to him, and when he didn't notice her, she looked in the direction of his gaze and rolled her eyes when she saw a group of Cheerios.<p>

"Are you staring at the Cheerios butt again, Noah?" Puck jumped up and looked down at her.

"Hey bro, and yeah, I can't help it if they have a nice ass."

"Noah! We are in a school, someone would think that the male population, including you, would show just a little restrain when it came to their more vulgar and…manly side." Puck raised an eyebrow.

"Manly side?"

"I meant your dirty mind." Puck laughed as Rachel pushed him aside and opened her locker.

"C'mon, I bet you've stared at someone's ass before."

"I assure you, I have not. I'm going to class now." Puck pushed himself up off the lockers and began walking with her to her class.

"So, you excited about working with Satan?" Rachel frowned and looked up at him confused. "Oh sorry, I meant Santana." Rachel rolled her eyes and stopped at the door to her class.

"In fact, I am excited about working with _Santana_," Puck grinned at Rachel's emphasis on her name. "I think this would be good for my constant struggle to get her to remember me."

"Yeah, and maybe I won't even have to do as much as I thought," Rachel nodded and Puck gave her a wave as he started to turn around. "See ya later." Rachel gave him a wave and walked in to class, and spent each period getting more and more excited for Glee club. Once Spanish came by, she walked to the back the class and sat down in her seat. She smiled when she saw Santana walk in with Brittany but frowned when she noticed how tired the Latina was.

Santana had her hair up in a messy ponytail, her shoulders were slumped, and she had noticeable bags under her eyes. She sat down at her desk and immediately brought her head down. Brittany noticed Rachel staring and looked back at her and waved, and when Rachel returned it Brittany looked back at Santana and patted the Latina's head. Puck came in late but, as always, Mr. Schuester was late as well, so he walked to his seat next to Rachel's. He had barely sat down when Rachel questioned him.

"What's wrong with Santana." Puck just shrugged.

"I don't know, probably tired." Mr. Schuester came in and soon class started, and Rachel couldn't help but look at Santana time to time, checking to make sure she really was just tired and nothing else was wrong. Luckily, at the end of the period, Santana didn't charge out of the room like usual, giving Rachel enough time to collect her things and walk up to Santana. She walked up behind the girl and tapped her shoulder, making Santana turn around.

"What Manhands, I'm too tired to deal with you." Rachel sighed at Santana's nickname for her. _Fine, if she wants to play that game, then so be it._

"I was just wondering if you were okay, Santana. I noticed you weren't as awake as usual, and I don't want that to hamper our ability to make a great song together in Glee Club." Santana rolled her eyes.

"I'm fine, just tired, now leave me alone or I'll be late for class."

"Our next class is lunch…"

"Then just leave me alone." Santana looked back ahead of her and walked out the door angrily with the other students, leaving Rachel, Brittany, and Puck.

"Someone's bitchier than usual." Puck said.

"She said she didn't sleep well." Brittany said and waved at Puck and Rachel before running after Santana. Puck shrugged and poked Rachel's shoulder to get her attention.

"Let's go, I want to eat." Rachel nodded and they walked to lunch and went their separate ways to their tables. As Rachel talked with everyone at her table, she kept looking at Santana, who was sleeping with Quinn and Brittany sitting on either side of her. Rachel couldn't wait until Glee Club and actually talk to Santana, so she waited anxiously for all of the classes she had left, her patience growing thinner with each passing minute.

When the bell rang, Rachel stood up and looked over to see Santana already getting up and heading for the door as fast as her tired self could. She sighed and collected her things, not even bothering to run after her. Rachel thought this was going to be another unfortunate everyday thing.

Slowly, she got out of class and decided against going to her locker if it meant she wouldn't have to see Finn again. She had a feeling he never got it in his head that she didn't want him. She walked into the choir room and found it totally empty. She sat down at one of the far chairs and waited until the rest of Glee came in. After five long minutes, they started piling in one by one and they took their seats. Well, everyone except the Cheerio. After everyone settled into their seats, and after Finn tried to sit next to Rachel but Mercedes took the seat, Rachel looked down at Puck, who was sitting in front of her on the lower level.

"Where's Santana?" Puck looked up and shrugged.

"You're looking for Santana?" Kurt asked incredulously. "What did she do?" He asked suddenly, and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Nothing, I'm just curious that we're missing a member of the club. I like good attendance to anything." Puck grinned and covered his mouth with his fist to try and hide it.

"Then shouldn't you be asking about Quinn and Brittany?" Mercedes asked, and Rachel groaned in frustration.

"Right. Yes, where are they?" Puck looked up at Rachel again, fist still covering his mouth.

"Probably at some Cheerios meeting Sylvester had randomly."

"What's wrong with you?" Mercedes asked.

"Nothing." Puck said quickly and looked back forward. Finally Mr. Schuester walked in, and looked at the group, frowning when he noticed the three Cheerios missing.

"Where's Brittany, Quinn, and Santana?" Everyone shrugged and muttered they had no idea. "Well, we'll just start without them." Rachel felt herself get disappointed, and mentally scolded herself for getting too excited. Mr. Schuester had everyone work with their partners, leaving Rachel, Artie, and Mike.

The three stood together in a small group, Mike looking indifferent that Quinn wasn't there, while Artie and Rachel were both sulking. Mike looked between the two and tried small talk.

"I bet they're going to come soon," Mike said, and Artie grinned back. Rachel just looked at the floor, hoping but not really expecting Santana to come, especially after what happened earlier that day. Mike poked Rachel's shoulder, making her look up. "Santana's going to come." Rachel smiled at him.

"Thank you Mike, so, do you and Quinn know what you're going to do for the duet?" Mike shrugged.

"Nope. But if all else fails, I'm going to dance." To prove it, he walked to his backpack quickly to grab a hat, then walked back to the two, spinning and moving his body in a way that no one but him and Brittany could do. He danced up to Rachel, took off his hat, and placed it on her head, making her giggle. He took a few steps back and bowed. Both Artie and Rachel clapped, earning periodic stares from everyone else, and just glaring from Finn.

"I can't dance, but I can rap pretty good." Artie said, and started rapping from a random song. He stopped and grinned up at Rachel and Mike.

"And we all know you can sing, Rachel." Mike said, but he didn't say it with any malice or jealousy in his voice.

"Yes, well, I always sang a little bit at home, even before I moved here."

"Makes sense." Mike said.

"Where did you move from?" Artie asked, curiously.

"Yeah, Mr. Scheu never told us anything about you, and you haven't much either." Rachel just shrugged.

"I don't like talking about my past, and it's not like there's any bad rumors out there."

"Like Santana," Artie said quietly, mostly to himself, but both Rachel and Mike heard him. "There will be soon anyway, with this school." Mike nodded.

"And Jacob Ben Israel." Rachel's faces twisted a little bit in disgust when she heard the name, she had already met the boy, and it wasn't pleasant.

"I moved here from New York." Mike and Artie gaped at her, but before they could say anything, Mercedes voice was heard right by Rachel.

"What!" The three turned their heads to see her staring at Rachel wide eyed. "New York? _New York_? Girl, that's amazing, why are you here then?" Kurt seemed to hear from where he was, and he left his partner, Puck, to go to the growing group around Rachel.

"You're joking, right?" Kurt asked, and when Rachel shook her head, he jumped up with the same excitement as Mercedes. Puck watched from the distance, and laughed as he saw all of them question Rachel and the short brunette looking like a deer caught in headlights. He walked to the group, actually curious about New York, and the rest of Glee practice was spent listening to Rachel's stories of New York.

When Glee was over, everyone left, and Mercedes and Kurt tried to invite Rachel to hang out with them, but Rachel turned them down, because she "needed to get home". But what she really needed was to check on Santana, not that she would admit that to anyone but Puck, who had to leave for football practice with the rest of the guys, except Kurt.

She slowly walked to her locker, and after she made sure everyone from Glee was gone, she walked to the football field in silence. Once outside, she walked to the back of the stands so Santana wouldn't see her if she happened to look that way. She looked out to the field and saw all the cheerios working out, and scanned each one until she saw Santana. As soon as she saw her though, her worry deepened.

The Latina was warming up separate from everyone else, though it wouldn't seem that way with just a glance. Rachel noticed Santana seemed to be working harder than the others too, and her breaths seemed more labored, though Rachel couldn't tell since she was far away. Rachel looked for Quinn and Brittany, and saw that they would look at Santana worriedly from time to time when Sue wasn't looking.

Rachel sighed and walked to the front of the stands, not caring anymore if Santana sees her and gets mad again. She sat down on the first level and leaned back against the one behind her. She moved her backpack in her lap and wrapped her arms around it, and closed her eyes as she snuggled into it like it was a teddy bear, waiting until the practice was over.

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><p>Rachel woke up to herself being shoved roughly back and forth from her side and she groaned in frustration but didn't bother waking up. When she was shoved harder she finally opened her eyes she noticed the sun setting and looked to where she was being pushed from. Next to her was Santana, looking tired, sweaty, and her face was still red from working so hard.<p>

"Santana…?" She looked around, realizing she was in the football field. Then she suddenly remembered everything that occurred in the day, and the reason she was in the field in the first place. She sat up and turned to Santana. "Santana, um…" Now that Santana was sitting next to her, she had no idea what to say. Santana just rolled her eyes and removed her hand from Rachel's shoulder.

"What the fuck are you doing Manhands?" Rachel looked down at her feet. "Jesus, here I am doing cheerleading practice and you're fucking sleeping outside. What if I hadn't seen you? Then what? You'd be sleeping out here all day." Rachel noticed under the harsh tone there was something like…worry? Rachel was so surprised she accidentally let the question out of her mouth.

"Were you worried?" Santana froze and scowled even more, crossing her arms with a huff and sat next to Rachel.

"Fuck no. I just don't want it in my conscious that I let someone freeze outside or something. I'm not that much of a bitch." Rachel smiled at Santana's concern. They sat in silence and Rachel noticed how hard Santana was still breathing.

"Why did Coach Sylvester make you work so hard today?" Santana looked at her shocked.

"You noticed?" Rachel nodded.

"Yes, you weren't that far from everyone else, but you far enough that you were excluded. And you were working harder than everyone else. I wasn't awake for it, obviously, but I suppose you were also at the bottom of the pyramid." Rachel looked at Santana, and the other girl sighed.

"Yeah, Sylvester got mad cuz I was so tired and was lacking. So she just worked me harder than the others, its fine." Rachel stood up, appalled by Santana's words, as if it was just a casual thing every day.

"That's not right, that's horrible!" Rachel screamed out, frustrated. Santana suddenly stood up at her full height, right in front of Rachel so fast that Rachel took a step back and cowered a little bit. Santana stared down at Rachel, and to Rachel it seemed the Latina was taller than she ever was, or Rachel was just even shorter than Santana than she thought.

"Listen Berry, I don't gots a clue where you're from, but here, there's no mercy," Santana looked down at Rachel and smiled cruelly, mockingly. "You would know, wouldn't you?" The words were like a slap to the face and Rachel took another step back in fear, and Santana advanced towards her in a just as taunting way as her words. "I bet all those slushies get annoying, don't they?"

"Stop it…" But Santana wasn't listening.

"You look like you've been a loser all your life, well guess what? You don't know what a loser is until you've seen a Lima Loser, and that's what you really are now."

"I-I'm not, so stop…"

"You're on a different level than me, you're just a Lima Loser, and I'm a fucking cheerio. I'm not Head Cheerio yet, Q is, but I bet I will be soon. Then, I'll rule this lame school, and not even Sylvester will be able to push me around like today," Santana suddenly turned around and grabbed her bag that Rachel didn't even notice she had before carelessly throwing it over her shoulder. Santana just stood silently still with her back facing Rachel and breathing hard, and Rachel wondered if she should make a run for it. After a few seconds Santana turned her head around slightly, casting an eerie shadow over her face.

"Look," Santana tone was a drastic change to the one before, it was deeper and her voice cracked as she tried to maintain it and not raise her voice. "I don't know why you came here, but you let me do my things, you do yours, and we only see each other for Glee and we're good." With that, Santana hurriedly walked away, her hands balled into fists so tight her knuckles turned white.

Rachel stood alone and watched Santana's retreating form. She looked up at the sky, noticing its dark blue color, and she closed her eyes. She let out a shaky breath and walked slowly to her backpack, feeling numb. She picked it up and slowly put it on, she felt as though she was a robot, walking slowly from one place to another. The only thing on her mind was of what had just happened between her and Santana. She walked to her car, not looking anywhere but in front of her, and got into her car. She turned it on and drove off to her home as fast as she could, not noticing there was someone watching her the entire time.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: **It's been a while since I've updated, I've just been really busy lately so sorry about that. But here's the next chapter, and I'll try to update the next one soon.

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><p>Rachel walked into her house and was intent on going to her bedroom. When Shelby saw her from another room, she greeted her with a wave, but Rachel just muttered a "hi" and continued on her way to her bedroom. Once in her room, Rachel closed the door quietly and dived onto her pillow face first. Tears stung her eyes and she closed them, a few strands dropping. Her body was shaking and she willed herself not to cry out loud again, not like last time. Not again.<p>

After five minutes of just trying to control her breathing, the shaking subsided, and soon she was just laying in bed. Her phone started ringing and she jumped, groaning as she went through her things to find it. As soon as she found it, she didn't bother looking at the caller id and just pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?" Her voice croaked, and she winced at the sound of it.

"Open your window, this tree fucking sucks." Rachel eye's went wide and she leaned up with her other arm and turned slightly to her window. Outside, was Puck, grinning like an idiot and waving at her. She looked at her phone and slammed in shut and opened her window. She leaned her upper body outside and glared at him.

"What in the world are you doing, Noah Puckerman?"

"Climbing a tree."

"I can see that." Rachel snapped, and Puck started inching towards her window.

"Help me in." Rachel stared at him as if he had two heads and she crossed her arms.

"Are you crazy?" She hissed in a loud whisper. "No." Puck just shrugged.

"Fine, I'll just go in myself. If I fall I'm suing your ass." Rachel gasped.

"I should be suing _you_. This is considered trespassing, you know." Puck started making his way in the window, and when she stumbled, she instinctively reached out, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards her. As she did so he grinned, and she let go, realizing what he was doing. Puck though was close enough that he reached out to the window sill and pulled himself up and into her room safely.

"Sorry, bro." He said as soon as he landed lightly on his feet. Rachel just shook her head and opened her mouth to say something, but they heard Shelby's voice in the distance.

"Rachel?" Rachel's eyes widened and she looked around the room wildly, trying to find a place big enough for Puck to hide.

"Can you fit under the bed?" Puck examined it for a few seconds before nodded and silently getting under it. Rachel quickly moved the undersheet around, thankful that it was long enough that it covered all of underneath her mattress. Rachel quickly sat down and looked busy by picking up a random book and looking like she was reading it. Shelby knocked on the door, and opened the door. "Rachel?" Rachel looked up and smiled.

"Yes, mom?" Rachel had to admit that years ago it was hard to call Shelby her mother, she still thought of her as a stranger and thought of her dads as her only parents. Now, it was easy enough to say that no one would even think she didn't spend all her life with the woman. Shelby smiled and sat down next to Rachel, making the old bed creak slightly and Rachel swallowed hard.

"What you reading?" Rachel looked at her book, then looked up at Shelby.

"A book." Shelby frowned at Rachel's generic answer and she let out a long sigh. She brushed her hair back and Rachel sat in quiet panic.

"Rachel, um," Shelby paused again, trying to find the right words. "You know, I wasn't prepared when I first got you." Rachel let out a sigh and closed the book.

"I know, you don't have to tell me again." _Especially with Noah here. _Rachel wondered what Puck was thinking under the bed, and she hoped he didn't ask to many questions later. Shelby nodded and brushed Rachel long strands of hair behind her ear.

"I know you know, but I just thought I'd let you know," Rachel nodded and Shelby paused again. "I know it was hard to lose your dads like that, and you didn't even know me when I picked you up from the orphanage," Rachel's hands tightened, she really hated being reminded of the past, by anyone. "We've gotten closer since then, right?"

"Yes." Rachel nodded, and as much as she appreciated her mother actually taking the time out of her day and doing this, she wished it wasn't _this _talk again.

"You can tell me anything, okay?" Rachel nodded and they sat in uncomfortable silence. Shelby finally placed her hand over Rachel's and squeezed it lightly. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" Rachel looked down and bit her lip. She had been wondering if she should tell Shelby about Santana, but she was sure Shelby wouldn't appreciate Santana's taunts, and those happened so often they were hard not to talk about. "Okay." Shelby said with uncertainty after a few moments of staring at Rachel. She got up and kissed Rachel's forhead. "Night" She said as she headed for the door.

"Night." Rachel said back quietly and looked up to see Shelby hovering by the door, in between the frame with her hand on the handle behind her. Rachel gave her a tight smile and that seemed enough to calm Shelby down. Shelby smiled back and left the room, closing the door behind her. Rachel let out a long exhausted sigh and fell backwards on the bed and closed her eyes.

She wasn't sure how long she was there on the bed, but she had completely forgotten about Puck. It wasn't until she felt herself being shaken yet again. She groaned and she opened her eyes to see Puck on the bed. Her eyes snapped open and she sat up. It was then that she noticed she had been laying properly in the bed with the covers over her and the light turned off. She looked at Puck frantically, only to see him looking at his cell, grinning seductively. She looked at her alarm clock and gaped at the time.

"Midnight?" She groaned, her voice cracking, and Puck looked up from his phone.

"Hey, finally awake." He whispered, and she looked at the time again as she rubbed her eyes.

"Don't you have a home to be in?"

"Nah. I kinda put you in bed and snuck out, then snuck back in," Puck shrugged. "No big deal."

"That is a _very _big deal." Rachel hissed back and Puck just shrugged again. He snapped his phone closed and looked at Rachel seriously.

"C'mon, let's do something." Rachel's eyes widened and she brought the covers over her chest.

"No."

"Not that." Puck said and Rachel lowered her covers again. "I meant something like, I don't know, egging the school or something."

"You mean something…juvenile?" Puck nodded and Rachel shook her head quickly. "No, no I do not encourage that kind of entertainment, who knows what would happen then. We'd go to prison and our futures would go down the toilet." Puck just laughed.

"Dude, you're such a dramaqueen." Rachel huffed and crossed her arms, muttering an "am not" quietly. Puck got off the bed and started walking towards the window. "Your mom won't notice anything. Besides, you were feeling down, so this should cheer you up."

"How'd you know that?" Rachel asked, but Puck was already climbing through the window. He lowered himself so that he was hanging off the windowsill before jumping down onto a branch quietly and safely. Rachel stayed in the bed unsure of what to do, before groaning and getting out of the bed and going near the window. She looked out and saw Puck standing on the branch, holding onto surrounding ones for support, waiting for her.

She looked back toward her room and finally decided to follow Puck. She followed his actions, but found herself kicking her legs in the air. She heard Puck laugh behind her and he inched forward a little bit. When she felt him grab the back of her sweater, she jumped off and landed on the branch, and would have fallen off too if it weren't for his tight grip. Soon, they jumped off the tree and walked to Puck's car. As soon as Rachel closed the door, Puck drove off wordlessly, and after a few minutes of just him driving silently, Rachel got fidgety and began asking him questions.

"Where are we going?" Puck just grinned and glanced at Rachel.

"It's a secret." Rachel just rolled her eyes and huffed as she crossed her arms and leaned against the door.

"So how did you now?"

"Huh?" Puck asked, confused.

"How did you know I wasn't feeling as well as I usually am."

"Oh, I was making out with some Cheerio in the parking lot when I saw you walking. Dude, you were like a zombie." Rachel laughed and looked out her window content with the answer he gave her. It wasn't long after when Puck pulled his car to a stop and he leaned back to grab two backpacks, and a black sweater. Puck gave Rachel the backpack and sweater and she looked at him oddly.

"What is this?"

"Put on the sweater, it'll hide you more." Rachel did as told but still looked wary and watched Puck go through the backpack. "Do you want to egg or toilet paper Karofsky's house?"

"_That's_ what we're doing?" Puck nodded and pulled out eggs.

"Hey, everyone hates him, and didn't he slushy you?" Rachel nodded and Puck opened his door. "Grab the eggs and lets show him." With that, Puck quietly closed the door and Rachel grabbed the eggs, left the backpack, and followed him out. She walked up to him and noticed he had put on a hoodie as well, and they walked a two houses down. They stopped at a relative large house and Puck walked to the backyard, jumping the large stone fence. Once on top of it, he held out his hand and helped Rachel over, and soon they were in the backyard. Puck opened his carton of eggs and grinned down at Rachel.

"See that window?" Puck pointed to a window at the corner of the house and Rachel nodded. "That's his bedroom window. Let's egg it." Rachel couldn't help it, but her face broke into a mischievous grin and with Puck next to her the two looked like a pair to be reckoned with. They began egging Karofsky's window and after they finished one of the cartons, Rachel noticed something.

"Is his window open?" Puck laughed.

"A little bit, but I think some eggs still went in his room." Rachel began laughing and they finished off the two cartons. Rachel dropped the cartons and bent over laughing while Puck went through the backpack he took with him and pulled out two stinkbombs. He showed them to her and he through them through the slightly open window, landing both of them in. The smoke started flowing out of the window and quickly after they heard Karofsky's cursing out loudly. Rachel and Puck quickly ran to the fence and climbed their way over and to Puck's car, laughing all the while. In the middle of Puck driving to Rachel's house their laughing had gone down and they were just snickering lightly. When there was nothing but silence Puck glanced at Rachel and nervously tapped the steering wheel.

"So…" He began, catching Rachel's attention.

"Yes?"

"You said you met Santana before, a long time ago," Rachel stiffed but nodded. "And you said something about leaving a place and her leaving after. Was that place the orphanage you're mom mentioned when I was under the bed?"

"Yes, my father's died when I was around eight, and I had to stay in the orphanage. My first night there was when I met Santana," Rachel couldn't help but smile at the memory. "I didn't talk, and she was forced to watch me or something. But after I had an… accident that led to the bullying I got from the older kids, she protected me. From everyone." Rachel remembered all the times Santana had gotten in trouble for fighting with another kid whenever Rachel would cry. "Even when I didn't talk, she became my friend. But I had to leave when my mom finally got permission to take me home, to New York." Puck had been silent the entire time, and when after a long, uncomfortable silence it was clear Rachel wasn't going to talk again. He thought about what he could say to her but he ended up driving up to Rachel's house before he could. They both got out of the car and to the tree that Rachel had climbed down in.

"Thank you for showing me a good time, Noah. I suppose being a deiequent can be fun." Puck grinned and nodded.

"Damn right, you need help getting to your room?" Rachel looked up the tree and then to her bedroom window and bit her lip before looking at him and nodding. He climbed the tree and began helping her climb up and soon enough they were both back in her room. Rachel muttered a quiet goodbye a quiet goodbye and expected Puck to leave, but frowned when he stayed put looking nervous.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Okay, look," Puck said. "I'm not really good with sappy shit, but I guess I'll make an exception. I'm sorry if what I asked in the car after egging Karofsky's room was uncomfortable to you." Rachel smiled and shook her head.

"It's fine, really. It happened a long time ago, and I haven't been in the orphanage for years. Besides, if I never went, I never would have met Santana." Puck smiled back and nodded, then gave her a quick hug before climbing out her window. Rachel watched him climb down and closed the window as he walked around the corner of the house and of her sight. She sighed and collapsed on the bed, pulling the covers over her and too tired to change. As she drifted off to sleep, she couldn't help but let out a little giggle as she thought back to egging Karofsky's house.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Again, thanks for the reviews here's the next chapter. I don't really have anything to say other than that, except that I'm frustrated about new episodes of Glee being interrupted for weeks now.

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><p>Rachel sat in her car and gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned white. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. The memory of what happened between her and Santana was still fresh in her mind. She still remembered everything, how Santana was fine one second and the next it seemed like she was going to kill Rachel. Rachel sighed and brought her head down on the steering wheel with a groan, wondering how the hell she was going to face Santana. The best scenario was that Santana would apologize, but Rachel highly doubted that. Worst case might be that Santana would kill her in her sleep, which seemed possible. Or Santana could just ignore her completely for the rest of her life.<p>

Rachel wasn't sure she would be able to handle that.

She sat up and let out one last deep breath before stepping out of the car. She made her way to the school and made her way to her locker, surprised that a slushy hadn't hit her yet. For a second she was naïve enough to think maybe Santana was the reason why, that maybe Santana realized what she had did and maybe, just maybe, Rachel. That idea went away the second she turned around and got hit with a slushy from Karofsky. Rachel sighed and turned toward her locker as everyone else laughed and saw that some of it had gotten on her locker. By the time she turned around Karofsky had already left and Rachel walked to the bathroom like always.

When she walked in all the sinks were occupied by a group of cheerios doing their hair and make-up in front of the mirror. They all stopped and looked at her at the same time, making Rachel think of them as Barbie machines, and they looked at each other and giggled. Rachel rolled her eyes and walked to the end of the bathroom, leaning against the wall waiting quietly for them to finish. They purposely took longer and stole not so subtle glances at her before chuckling quietly again. Rachel just closed her hands into fists and looked down and closed her eyes so she didn't have to see them staring at her like she was just some bug. After hearing a few more giggles and a "loser" out of one of the girls, she heard the bathroom door open and Rachel thought maybe they were leaving and looked up, only to look down just as quickly. Of course, of all people to walk in it had to be Santana. The cheerios still laughed and just kept doing what they were doing before, and Rachel was afraid Santana would join them in making fun of her, but Santana had other plans instead.

"Out." Santana spoke with such coldness that all the other cheerios became dead silent. Rachel's eyes were still closed, but she imagined them looking at Santana with open mouths and wide eyes. There was more silence until Santana spoke again. "Are you deaf? I said get out." They started speaking quietly to themselves and Santana ordered them out for a third time. "_Now._" Third time was the charm, because Rachel heard them all hurrying out the door, not wanting to face the wrath of Santana Lopez. Rachel heard her walk closer to her and she squeezed her eyes shut even more.

"Ya know, Berry, you're going to hurt yourself like that." Rachel opened her eyes to see Santana with a hint of a grin. Rachel looked down again and nodded, afraid of what could happen next. Santana grabbed Rachel's hand and led the smaller brunette to the sink. "Put your head down in there." Rachel looked at Santana questioningly and the Latina rolled her eyes. She reached up and gently pushed Rachel's head into the sink. Santana turned on the faucet and Rachel felt her fingers thread through her hair as her hair was being washed. She shuddered at the feeling of Santana's fingers and the other girl paused in the hair washing. "Too cold?"

"N-no." Rachel replied. Shocked that Santana was caring enough to ask, or even notice. Hell, she was shocked that Santana was even washing her hair to begin with. Santana didn't say anything else after that, and neither did Rachel, and the only sound coming from the bathroom was the water. Santana turned off the faucet and squeezed the water out of Rachel's hair. When she let go, Rachel was about to stand up properly, but put her hand behind Rachel's head.

"Wait." Rachel nodded and tried to see what Santana was doing, but her wet hair had gotten in the way. Rachel heard Santana's backpack open and she quickly found a towel dumped on her head. "There." Rachel leaned up and grabbed the towel and looked at Santana. Santana just rolled her eyes and yanked it out of her hand. "If you don't want it-"

"No, I, um, I do." Rachel stuttered quickly after, taking the towel back and drying her hair. Rachel turned towards the mirror and saw Santana staring back at her with unreadable eyes. Rachel cleared her throat and looked down. "Santana, why are you here?" Santana didn't answer at first, and Rachel thought that maybe she wasn't going to say anything at all. Santana finally groaned and rubbed the back of her head.

"Okay, listen, I'm…sorry." Rachel blinked and turned around.

"What?" She knew she had Santana apologizing as one of the things that could happen between them, but it was still a shock.

"I said I'm sorry about yesterday," Santana said quietly, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "I kinda went all psycho on you, and I shouldn't have done that." Santana let out a long breath of air and relaxed again.

"O-oh, um, well thank you for apologizing, it really does mean a lot-" Santana just rolled her eyes and scowled, getting right up in Rachel's face.

"Whatever Manhands," Rachel winced at the nickname, but Santana didn't notice. "I _don't_ apologize because I'm Santana fucking Lopez, so this never happened and you don't mention this to anyone, got it?" Rachel nodded and Santana's face softened a little bit and she took a step back. "Good, see you in Glee." Santana turned around and walked out the door. Rachel sighed and reached up to move her hair out of the way when she felt the towel. She grabbed it and ran out of the bathroom to catch up to Santana, only to find her lost in the crowd of students. Rachel sighed and walked back in the bathroom to change her shirt.

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><p>Brittany skipped into Spanish class with a not so happy Santana behind her, which she had been doing since the day started. Brittany walked to her desk and sat down and watched Santana sit down next to her with a giant smile on her face. Santana just rolled her eyes at her friend and looked away, unfortunately, the looking away meant looking at the direction of Rachel's desk, which was currently empty. Brittany giggled and Santana mentally cursed.<p>

"San, it's like you can't get away from Rachy. It's like you're meant to be." Santana wanted to barf.

"Um, hells no Britt. I'm not meant to even get near that midget." Brittany frowned before smiling again.

"But you apologized to her." Santana sighed.

"That's cuz Q made me, and you took her side." Brittany nodded happily.

"Can we see the ducks later today?" Santana sighed.

"Sure Britt."

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><p>Rachel was walking down to Spanish later than usual when she bumped into Puck, literally. Puck just grinned at her and grabbed a piece of her hair.<p>

"Slushie?" Rachel just nodded and the two walked to Spanish class together. "Feeling better?" Puck asked, and Rachel thought about what happened in the bathroom with Santana.

"Good…I think."

"Think?" Rachel sighed and remembered she never exactly told Puck about her and Santana's blow-up the previous day, and she decided now was a good time as any.

"Yes, well, when I was feeling down, that was because Santana kind of…yelled at me the other day and I was worried I ruined my chances of her remembering me, but today she apologized, so that's good, right?" Rachel asked the last part looking up at Puck with hopeful eyes. Puck just grinned and raised his hand for a high five.

"Yeah that's good, see you got this, c'mon, high five," He suddenly thought better and lowered his hand so it was closer to Rachel, then closed it to a fist. "Even better, fist pump." Rachel grinned and hit her fist against his just as they walked into Spanish class. Santana, who had been looking in that direction, saw Rachel and looked away. Brittany saw the two and waved at them, shouting out their names, making everyone look at her. Rachel smiled and waved back with obvious less enthusiasm, and Rachel wondered how the girl always had it in her.

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><p>Once Spanish was over, Santana rushed out of the room as usual, and Puck and Rachel walked out together. They walked down to the cafeteria and Rachel expected Puck to leave her for his usual table, but instead he chose to follow Rachel. Everyone at the table stopped eating and stared at him in surprise. It wasn't that he was too high on the social ladder to sit with them, once he joined Glee he was as low as the rest of them, but he was still on the football team and accepted there. If anything, he was just a more popular Glee loser.<p>

"Surprised to see you here." Mercedes said and everyone nodded.

"I just want to spend time with my bro." Puck said with a shrug as he sat down and started going through his backpack.

"You two have gotten pretty close." Rachel and Puck looked at each other before grinning.

"Hot Jews stick together." Was all Puck said and everyone rolled their eyes, except Rachel who had gotten used to the things that come out of Puck's mouth. She just laughed at him with a shake of her head. Puck finally got what he wanted and took out a rubber duck then called Brittany's name out. Brittany's head snapped up toward him from the Cheerios table and she smiled when she saw what was in his hand. She jumped up from her spot in between Quinn and Santana and made her way to Puck.

"You found Ducky!" Brittany jumped up and down as she grabbed the duck and rubbed it against her face.

"Not me, Rachel did." Puck said pointing at Rachel. Rachel suddenly felt herself be engulfed in a hug from behind.

"Thanks, Rachy," Rachel just nodded as her cheeks flushed a red. "I'll make sure Santana's nicer to you." With that, Brittany left and walked back to the table she was sitting at. Rachel and Puck watched her sit down and show the rubber duck to Quinn and Santana, both of which smiled at Brittany. Santana smiled at Brittany and brought her head down on the table again as Brittany showed Quinn and the other blonde playfully petted the rubber duck like it was a real pet.

"Worked like a charm." Puck said as the two turned back around. Rachel just sighed and moved closer to him and spoke softly.

"I don't even know what I'm doing, or how to get her to remember me." Puck just grinned and leaned in as well and snuck a glance at Santana.

"That's why you got me to help you out." Rachel was about to say something when Kurt spoke up.

"Wait, are you two together?" He asked and Rachel gaped at him. Puck just snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, she's my girlbro, and bro's don't do that with each other."

"Exactly," Rachel said with a nod. "We are only friends, that's all." Puck looked at Rachel and grinned at her seductively.

"But bro's can occasionally make out." Puck wriggled his eyebrows at her, which earned him a slap to the back of his head. "Never mind." Everyone just laughed at Puck's usual antics and spent the rest of lunch listening to his crude jokes, making them all be stuck between disgusted and amused at the same time.

For the rest of the day every time Rachel saw Santana, the Latina was giving her a death glare. Each time they crossed paths, Santana shoved the smaller brunette, usually into lockers, with Brittany frowning and giving Rachel an apologetic look. Finally it was time for Glee and Rachel headed to her locker before going to the choir room. She put her books away and closed her locker and jumped. In front of her was Finn, sporting his usual dopey grin that supposedly made him look adorable and hovering over her, not knowing the definition of personal space.

"Hey Rachel, it's been pretty hard to find you lately, but I did now." Finn said, obviously proud of himself. Rachel gave him a shaky smile and nodded.

"Yes, Finn, you did. Um, let's go to Glee then." Fin nodded and walked next to her down the hall. Rachel saw Puck across the hall flirting with some Cheerio, with his arm up on the lockers and her one of her hands on his other arm that was at his side. Puck looked over just as he was laughing at something she said, and Rachel looked at him with pleading eyes. Puck subtly nodded and turned his attention back on the Cheerio so fast that she didn't notice. Puck shoved something in her hand as he said one last thing and walked off to Rachel without a look back. He walked up to her easily and playfully brought his arm around her shoulders, and Finn noticed.

"Hey man, what the hell?" Finn said angrily, and Puck moved his arms away from Rachel.

"I'm just saying hi to my girlbro," Puck looked down at Rachel and winked at her. "Hey Jewish Princess." Rachel raised an eyebrow but smiled at him anyway.

"That's a new name."

"Just thought of it." Finn watched the exchange with an obvious frown. The rest of the walk was in silence on Finn's part, and when they walked in Rachel and Puck sat at the end, with Rachel sitting on the very last chair and Puck sitting next to her. Finn opened his mouth to say something but one look from Puck made him close it again and sat behind Rachel and glared at the floor. Soon Mercedes, Kurt, Tina, and Artie, the only other ones that were usually earlier than the rest, walked in and sat around Rachel and Puck. They each gave Finn an odd look but mostly ignored him and talked in a little group. Soon after Mike and Matt walked in talking, and Mike and Tina looked at each other for a moment before looking away shyly. Mercedes noticed and began whispering in Kurt's ear, and the two moved somewhere else for gossip. Finally, Brittany walked in talking excitedly with Quinn, and Santana sulking in after them. Rachel looked up Santana, but the other girl was staring at the floor. Finally, Mr. Schuester walked in and walked to the front of the piano.

"Alright guys, time to get with your partner and work on that duet." He said excitedly and everyone got up and split apart. Rachel sighed and slowly got up and walked to Santana, who was still sitting down and staring at the floor. Rachel stood directly in front of Santana and cleared her throat, making Santana snap her head up. Santana rolled her eyes and patted the empty chair next to her. Rachel smiled and sat down and faced Santana.

"So, what would you like to do for our duet project? Maybe we can pick a specific genre today, or do you have songs as of this moment for duet possibilities? We would probably have to-"

"Manhands, shut up already." Rachel closed her mouth and looked down frowning. Santana pinched the bridge of her nose for a few moments before sitting up and facing Rachel too. "Alright, I got nothing, so what about you?" Rachel looked up and thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"Unfortunately, nothing." Santana nodded and leaned back in thought and Rachel did the same. Suddenly she sat up again. "I believe Barbra Streisand has done some duets." Santana groaned and looked at Rachel.

"No, there's gonna be no Barbra Streisand crap with me, got it?"

"Fine…"

"There's got to be something else you like that isn't Streisand." Rachel thought for a moment before shrugging at Santana.

"Seriously?" Rachel nodded and Santana looked around the room before leaning into Rachel. "Fuck, okay I can't work with someone who listens only to Streisand, so I'm going to have to show you other music." Rachel cocked her head to the side and looked at Rachel questioningly.

"How?"

"You're coming to my house and I'm going to teach you something about normal people music." Rachel's eyes widened and she stared at Santana in shock.

"R-really…?" Santana scowled and glared at Rachel.

"Don't make me say it twice, Manhands." Normally Rachel would frown or, if Santana said it mean enough, flinch at the name, but she was in too much shock and she ended up just nodding to Santana. Santana leaned back and crossed her arms as she stared at the clock. Rachel snapped out of her gaze and looked at the clock as well.

"You know, staring at it makes time pass by slower." Santana just scoffed.

"Whatever, there's nothing else to do until you get to my house this weekend." Rachel frowned and looked at Santana.

"I have to wait until the weekend?" Santana just rolled her eyes and shrugged. Rachel pouted and looked back at the clock with a huff. "Fine, the weekend." Rachel couldn't wait until it came; luckily she didn't have to wait long.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I'm pretty sure it was a while since the last update, and sorry for the long wait. Here's the next chapter, which has a lot of Rachel and Santana interaction, among other stuff.

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><p>Rachel was anxious and excited for the weekend to come, where she would finally spend time with Santana and get to know her without yelling on anyone's part. She ended up spending every day after school at Puck's place to try and distract herself and not get too anxious. At first Shelby was suspicious of Rachel going to Puck's house every day after school, but after she assured her mother that they were only friends Shelby was slightly more lenient. However, the thought of Rachel being in Puck's room all day slightly worried Shelby and she decided, much to Rachel's annoyance and embarrassment, she wanted to at least see Puck herself.<p>

Puck's answer to all of that was for them to have a "bro night" at Rachel's house instead, with Puck bringing the game system and games. He nearly brought beer too, but Rachel smacked him and scolded for how idiotic that part of the idea was. Puck pouted but agreed to leaving out the beer. After Glee Club they drove to Puck's house and grabbed the things needed, all the while Puck made fun of Rachel's excitement of being able to hang out with Santana over the weekend. When they finally made it to Rachel's house, they walked in and went straight to her bedroom.

"Dude, where's your mom?" Puck asked when he walked in without seeing her once.

"She's at work." Puck nodded and began setting everything up while Rachel sat on the bed. Puck looked back at her with a grin.

"You're being _so_ helpful right now." Rachel grinned back and held up the games.

"I'm holding these." Puck just laughed playfully as he quickly set everything up and they began playing shooter games. They had been playing for a few hours when Shelby came home and walked into Rachel's room to find Puck with both controllers and Rachel practically climbing on top of him to grab hers. Shelby cleared her throat and they both paused and looked toward her. Rachel quickly stood up and smiled at her.

"Hi mom." Shelby nodded and looked at Puck, who stood up and walked in front of Shelby so fast he nearly knocked Rachel over. Puck grinned at Shelby and held out his hand.

"I'm Noah Puckerman, but you can call me Puck," Shelby gave him an amused look as she took his hand. Puck turned his hand and looked back at Rachel with a grin. "Your mom's kinda hot." Rachel gave him a disgusted look and smacked him behind the head.

"Gross." Puck looked back at Shelby and winked at her.

"I see you're quiet the charmer, Noah Puckerman."

"Just Puck, and yeah," Puck nodded his head back at Rachel. "Too bad Rachel's my bro, and bro's don't go there," Then he winked at Shelby. "But anytime works for you, babe." Shelby looked at Rachel, who shrugged at her, before looking back at Puck with a smile.

"I think I'm a little too old for you, Noah." Puck frowned at the name. "I'll let you two get back to your game." Shelby walked out of the room and Rachel turned back to Puck.

"I can't believe you called my mom 'babe'."

"I can't believe she called me Noah…" Rachel rolled her eyes and picked up her controller. Puck finally shrugged it off and went back to his. The rest of the night was spent with him making fun of Rachel's excitement for seeing Santana. "It's only to figure out our duet"

"It's a start," Puck said distractedly, and cheered when he shot Rachel's character. "Maybe you can get her to remember you quick." Rachel frowned.

"I hope, since we're not hanging out because we're close with each other anyway, we're not even friends." Puck nodded and looked at her closet.

"Maybe pick normal clothes, like you do with me?" Rachel shook her head.

"She'll have to deal with my sweaters and re-know me that way, before I wear nice clothes around her."

"Re-know or remember?"

"Same difference." Rachel huffed out, and killed Puck's character. Puck groaned in frustration when he realized Rachel had beaten him in a long shot and began picking a different game.

"When you get Santana to remember you, it'll pay off." Rachel nodded and watched Puck put in the next game.

"I hope so." And that was how they ended the topic and Puck began listing off games Rachel never played before, making Puck swear to make her try each one soon. When Puck left Rachel went straight to bed, exhausted and not able to wait till the weekend.

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><p>Friday came and Rachel waited for Santana to finish getting her stuff after Glee Club ended. Luckily there was no Cheerios practice, leaving a lot of time for Rachel to be with Santana. Brittany hugged Rachel and Santana goodbye, while Quinn just waved at Santana and gave Rachel an awkward half wave. Once everyone was done Santana made sure Rachel didn't follow her too closely, saying something about her reputation being at stake. Rachel sighed and nodded, sulking after the Latina despite the hallway being mostly deserted. Rachel followed Santana home and was met with a decent sized house and parked behind her car on the curb.<p>

Rachel got out and walked next to Santana, expecting the other girl to shout at her for being too close, but was pleasantly surprised when she didn't say anything at all. Though was slightly disappointed by the fact that Santana had literally said nothing the walk up to her door. They walked through and Santana wordlessly began walking up the stairs, not even making sure if Rachel was following her or not. Rachel walked behind her and found herself in Santana's room and began looking around as Santana threw her bag on the bed and began going through her dresser. Santana's room was darker than Rachel's, with a curtain over the window to add to the darkness of the room, making light barely enter the room, but enough that a light didn't need to be turned on.

"Just to let you know," Santana suddenly spoke, making Rachel jump. Rachel looked over to see Santana already taking off her top. "I'm gonna change into normal clothes, as a heads up." Santana pulled off her top and threw it on the bed as well. Rachel couldn't help but stare at the Latina's curvy body, or how her chest seemed to be the perfect size. As Santana began pulling down her skirt, she looked up at Rachel, making the shorter brunette look away embaresdly. Santana smirked and purpously threw her skirt longer, making it land on Rachel. Rachel timidly picked it up and put it with the top, not even daring to look back towards Santana.

Rachel was looking down when she felt movement next to her and saw Santana throwing her stuff on the ground to sit next to Rachel. Rachel looked at Santana's clothing, realizing it was the first time she saw her out of her Cheerios outfit at McKinley, and noticed how nice her top and jeans fitted around her body. Santana leaned back and looked at Rachel, making Rachel blush and clear her throat.

"So, what would you like to do for our duet?" Rachel asked, finding her hands interesting. Santana shrugged.

"I don't know, but we're not doing Streisand crap." Rachel sighed and nodded.

"I know, what type of music you like?"

"I like all kinds, really," Santana gave Rachel an amused grin. "The real question is, what kind of music do _you_ like, that isn't broadway?" Rachel looked up thoughtfully for a second before looking back at Santana again.

"As much as it may surprise you, I do like pop music, and other genres." Santana raised her eyebrows.

"I'm surprised, Berry." Rachel smiled that Santana hadn't called her one of her usual nicknames.

"I'm full of surprises." Santana grinned before frowning again and blinking before looking down. Rachel frowned and looked at Santana worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Santana muttered before shaking her head and looking at Rachel. "Just thought of something, that's all."

_Or someone…_ Rachel hoped it was her Santana had been thinking of, but that was all it was now, hope. Instead, she asked a different question. "Was it something good?" Santana was caught off guard and looked at Rachel with a confused look before looking down and thinking somewhat thoughtfully. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again and scoffed.

"What kind of question is that, Manhands?" Rachel frowned and looked down at her hands. Santana looked somewhat guilty seeing the petite brunette looking so sad, and she decided to say what she had originally wanted. "I don't know if it was, it's just something I remembered." Santana sighed and ran a hand through her hair when Rachel's stomach growled. Santana blinked and looked at Rachel, who looked down embaressdlly.

"Um, I didn't eat much today, so…" Rachel mumbled. Santana scoffed and looked through her bag and grabbed some money.

"We could go to Breadstix or something." Santana said, already getting up.

"What's Breadstix?" Santana looked at Rachel as if she had two heads, and Rachel smiled nervously.

"How do you not know Breadstix?" Rachel opened her mouth to reply, but Santana shook her head and cut her off. "Never mind, now we need to go there, c'mon." Santana said and Rachel followed her out to her car. As Rachel sat in the seat she looked at Santana's car, which seemed expensive, and music started playing when Santana started driving.

"Colbie Caillat." Rachel muttered.

"What?" Rachel motioned to the car.

"The song, it's Fallin' for You by Colbie Caillat." Santana nodded and smiled lightly.

"See, now we're getting somewhere with songs." They spent the rest of the ride in silence and quickly arrived at the place, where Santana practically jumped out of the car. When the two started walking inside, Rachel put a hand on Santana's shoulder to stop her.

"Santana, you know I'm vegan, right?" Santana blinked and scowled for a second.

"Ugh, how do you even eat then?" Her face went back to normal and she nodded. "But yeah, there's vegetarian food too." Rachel sighed in relief and followed Santana inside and to a table. Rachel opened the menu and was glad there was at least some choices in the vegetarian section of the menu. After they ordered Santana waited impatiently by slouching on the table and tapping her fingers. Rachel fidgeted in her seat uncomfortably and decided to try to start some kind of conversation.

"So…" Rachel began, making Santana look up from the table. "What's so great about this place?"

"Haven't you been to a Breadstix before?" Rachel shook her head and Santana leaned up on the table. "Dude, even _Lima_ has one," Santana paused as if thinking about something. "But that's cuz there's nowhere else to go. Where'd you move from anyway?"

"New York." Santana whistled.

"Impressive," Santana reached over and grabbed a piece of Rachel's argyle sweater. "Don't people dress…not like this there?" Rachel rolled her eyes and slapped Santana's hand away, making Santana grin. The food came and the rest of eating was spent with Santana listening to Rachel talking about New York. By the time Santana spoke again they had been long done with their food.

"So," Santana said, resting her head in her hand and playing with the straw of her drink. "Why'd you move here? I want out."

"My mom thought a change of place would be nice." Santana nodded, staring at the straw and still lazily playing with it.

"What about your dad?" Rachel immediately looked down and reached out to play wither drink as well. Santana looked up when Rachel didn't answer and saw her expression. "Oh…he's…" Santana never finished the sentence and the two sat in thick silence before Rachel broke it again.

"It's fine; it was a long time ago. Both of them died in an accident, I didn't, and that's all there is to it."

"Them?" Santana asked, and when Rachel opened her mouth to answer Santana shook her head. "Nah, it's fine, you don't have to answer." Rachel shrugged and answered Santana anyway.

"It's fine, I had two gay fathers and now I live with my biological mother." Rachel's voice became softer as she remembered all the good times she had with her fathers. She looked up at Santana and remembered all the good times she had at the orphanage, when everything was looking dark for her, she still had Santana to help her get through the day.

"Still," Santana's voice snapped Rachel out of her thoughts and she saw Santana staring at her with sad eyes. "Sorry about that," Rachel smiled and Santana got up, saying something so lightly that Rachel barely heard it. "I know the feeling." Rachel decided not to say anything and followed Santana out to her car. The ride back was just as silent, but not an uncomfortable silence and they arrived at Santana's house quickly. They went back to Santana's room, where the Latina fell onto the bed and grabbed the remote.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked and Santana rolled her eyes.

"What does it look like, watching TV."

"We should work on our duet." Santana just groaned.

"Aren't you excited to work on it," Rachel sighed and sat down next to Santana. "We got time anyway." Rachel sat on the bed, wondering if she should lay back next to Santana or not. Rachel decided to sit at the edge and sat uncomfortably for a while before looking back at Santana to find her with her eyes closed. Rachel carefully crawled forward on the bed, closer to Santana.

"Santana?" Rachel stopped when she was hovering over Santana, who still had her eyes closed. Rachel reached up and lightly poked Santana's cheek, making Santana mumble something and turn around on her side, away from Rachel. Rachel sighed and backed off the bed and walked to turn off the tv. She walked to the door and she looked at Santana one last time before walking out and back to her car.

The first place she went was Puck's house and she walked straight into his room, where he layed in bed reading a magazine. She walked into his room, making him jump up, stuff the magazine under his pillow and turn around ready to yell at whoever walked in. He relaxed when he realized it was just her and pulled out his magazine as soon as Rachel closed the door. She walked over and sat next to him on the bed and yanked the magazine out of his hands.

"I was reading that." Puck groaned, and Rachel looked down at the picture he had it on, with some half naked girl next to a motorcycle, and waved it in front of his face.

"Reading or drooling over the picture?" Puck grinned and yanked the magazine out of her hand. He placed it back under his pillow and stretched his arms behind his head.

"So, I see you're back from hanging out with Santana, if that's what you guys even did."

"We talked about stuff, but she…fell asleep on me…" Puck suddenly burst out laughing and Rachel frowned.

"Sorry," Pucks said, but his laughing didn't let up. "Did you talk too much or something?" Rachel huffed and crossed her arms.

"I do not talk a lot. In fact, I wasn't talking at all, she decided to watch tv instead of working on our duet after our time at Breadstix, and fell asleep." Puck's laughing died down and he nodded.

"Yeah, Santana loves that place."

"I've noticed," Rachel sighed and ran a hand through her dark locks. "I don't know if me telling her about New York is us getting closer though…" Puck sat up ruffled her hair, making her pout and fix it.

"It'll take time, bro. Just be patient."

"Yeah…" Rachel said sadly. She looked at Puck's games and lightly punched his arm. "Let's play one of those pointless games that you shoot people." Puck snorted.

"You know you love them." Rachel grinned and grabbed the controllers, throwing one at Puck before climbing onto the bed with him and turning her attention to the game.

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><p><em>Santana hid behind the wall kneeled down with an end of a jumping rope stolen from the play room. On the other side of the wall, kneeled with another end of rope, was Rachel. A few feet down the corridor they heard the voice of one of the boys at the orphanage. He was a large boy, with an equally large voice used to intimidate those smaller and more soft-spoken than him. A few days ago, he made fun of Rachel in the lunch room, making her crash into another girl and causing both of their food to fall. Onto Rachel. Rachel stood frozen as the other kids laughed at her, and one of the employees led her out. Santana watched from the table, and she clenched her fists, glaring at the large boy who was laughing louder and longer than the rest.<em>

_Santana barely ate her food, and ran out of the lunch room as early as she could, looking for Rachel. She walked into the bedroom and found Rachel on her bed, under the covers. Santana walked to it and crawled underneath, hugging Rachel as she cried. When Santana thought she other girl was asleep, she began gently crawling out of her bed, ready to beat the boy up. But Rachel reached out and grabbed her wrist, making Santana stop. Rachel shook her head, and Santana bit her lip as she gently pried Rachel's hand off her wrist and continued getting off the bed. She started walking toward the door and quickly heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she saw Rachel following her and stopped so abruptly Rachel crashed into her. Santana wrapped her arms around Rachel for support and looked down at Rachel in frustration, who looked away shamefully. Santana sighed and grabbed Rachel's hand, realizing Rachel would follow her no matter what. Deciding not to beat the boy up with Rachel around, she led the two of them to the play area and grabbed a long jump rope, which led them to now._

_They heard another boy from a separate side of the orphanage with the large boy, and heard the taunting voice of the large boy. Santana looked at Rachel worriedly, who visibly stiffened at the words of the boy. Santana motioned at Rachel, getting her attention, and gave her an assuring smile, making Rachel smile back. The sound of the other boy crying caught their attention, and they heard his footsteps running away from them. The large boy laughed and began walking in their direction. Santana gave Rachel a thumbs up. Together, they waited and gripped the handle tighter with each footstep. Finally, the boy reached them, and they raised the jumping rope at the last second, making him trip over it and fall on his face. _

_Santana quickly ran to Rachel while collected the bits of rope on the way and grabbed the rope in one hand and her held her hand in the other. They ran past him, making sure he heard their laughs, and ran into the large bedroom and climbed onto Rachel's bed. They looked at each other in silence for a second before bursting out laughing._

"_That was fun." Rachel said, and Santana grinned. It hadn't been that long ago that Rachel spoke for the first time around Santana and her voice was still small and timid, if she used it. Sometimes, she went a day without using it, but slowly she was talking more._

"_I didn't think you had the guts to do that." Rachel looked at Santana and smirked mischievously._

"_I'm full of surprises."_

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><p>Santana woke up and rolled over with a groan. She blinked when she realized it was dark, and she sat up immediately. The TV was off and so was the light. She looked around and realized Rachel had left, and mentally scolded herself for falling asleep on someone. She quickly changed her clothes and collapsed back on the bed. She laid down on her back and stared at the ceiling, trying to remember the dream she had. She rubbed her eyes and gave up on trying to remember, deciding it probably wasn't worth remembering.<p> 


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. I hope its not going too slow for everyone, but anyway, thanks for all the reviews, they mean a lot, especially since I never thought I'd get this many or that a lot of people would read it. So thank you to everyone that reviewed. I might make an artwork for this story, but don't know yet. This is becoming a long author's note, so I'll let you all read now.

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><p>The rest of the weekend was spent at Puck's house, Rachel remembered where Santana's house was, but she wasn't sure if she should go back. She thought of Santana kicking her out of the house, or ignoring her and those were the last things she wanted to happen. The next week, when she was at her locker putting book away, one fell onto the floor. She sighed and kneeled down to pick it up at the same time as someone else. They both paused with their hands over the book and Rachel looked up to see it was Santana in front of her. Santana smiled nervously before picking it up and standing. Rachel stayed on the floor and just stared at Santana, who cleared her throat and began playing with the book nervously.<p>

"Um…are you going to get up or…?" Rachel jumped slightly and stood up. Santana reached over and placed Rachel's book in her locker for her. Rachel smiled at Santana and closed her locker before turning to Santana.

"Hello, Santana, how are you?" Santana sighed and leaned against the lockers as she folded her arms.

"Fine, look, Berry, sorry about falling asleep on you." Rachel just shrugged.

"It's okay, you seemed tired." Santana nodded and rubbed her head nervously.

"Yeah but…listen, how about after practice you head to my house?" Rachel smiled and nodded.

"That would be-" But she never finished her sentence when a slushy hit her and she gasped in surprise. She rubbed her eyes and when she opened them, she saw Santana scowling as she tried to wipe off some of the blue slushy that had fallen on Santana's Cheerios shirt as well. Rachel immediately ignored the slushy on her and looked at Santana worriedly. "Santana, are you okay?" Santana snapped her head up and Rachel jumped back a little bit, half expecting Santana to be angry at her. Instead, Santana turned her head and glared at karofsky, who still had the empty slushy in his head and looked fearfully.

"What the hell!" Santana yelled loudly, getting the attention of everyone in the hallway. Karofsky raised his hands up in defense and Santana slapped the cup out of his hands. "I was in the middle of a fucking conversation."

"I was just aiming for Manhands, I swear." Karofsky said, already backing up. Santana clenched her fists and began walking forward until she felt a small hand on her wrist. Santana stopped walking and looked at Rachel, who was looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Santana, let's just clean up, it's not worth it." Santana gave Karofsky one last glare before heading to the bathroom. Everyone in the hallway quickly looked away and got out of her way with Rachel following closely behind.

Once they got to the bathroom Santana yanked a paper towel out of the dispenser and wet it. As she dabbed at her Cheerios uniform, Rachel walked to the seat next to her and began washing her hair as best she could.

"Fuck, I really hope coach doesn't find out about this," Santana muttered, getting the last of the stains out. "If only it was red…"

"I'm sorry you had to deal with having slushy on you, next time you should just stay away from me." Rachel said, concentrating on her hair. Santana looked up and blinked before looking at Rachel.

"What?" Rachel sighed and opened her backpack and grabbed a towel. She dried it with the towel and raised her head to whip her hair back, and continued drying it as she turned to Santana.

"Face it, I'm just a loser in their eyes, I'm not even the "new kid" anymore, just a loser to everyone," _Including you._ Rachel added silently. She was hopeful, not stupid. She knew Santana was on the Cheerios, the highest on the food chain, next to the football players. Rachel, on the other hand, was on the lowest. She was pretty sure Jacob Ben Israel was above her in the social ladder of McKinley High and he couldn't even get near the Cheerios without being thrown into the dumpster. Rachel shook and put her towel away before throwing the backpack over her shoulder. "The only reason we're even talking right now is because of Glee." With that, Rachel walked passed Santana and left, leaving Santana confused.

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><p>The rest of the day she was eerily quiet and avoided Santana. Puck gave her a worried look every time he saw her and when he asked what was wrong, she just shrugged saying she was just tired. Puck stopped asking after the fourth time she said that, but he still kept a watchful eye on her. After school she stood in front of her locker staring at the inside of it, wondering if she should go to Glee. She sighed and closed it, realizing she couldn't avoid Santana forever. When she closed her locker and turned around, she saw Jacob Ben Israel in front of her with a camera and mic. Rachel groaned and walked past him, but he followed her anyway.<p>

"So, Rachel Berry," He said, speaking into the mic. "I heard from a reliable source that you're from the famous city of New York," Rachel groaned and just knew someone from Glee told him, except Puck, who she trusted enough not to tell anyone her secrets. "I think I speak for all of McKinley why someone would move here from New York, and since you _are_ the new student with nothing known about you, a lot of people want to know." Rachel was glad when Jacob finally closed his mouth but groaned again when he shoved the mic in front of her face.

"How about, no comment, so would you please leave me alone now?" She quickened her pace, but Jacob just kept up with her.

"Some people are saying you were in Juvie in New York and you're here as punishment," Rachel rolled her eyes at the ridiculous rumor. "You're quiet the mystery, and I think it adds a coolness to you…" Jacob moved one of his hands and Rachel gasped when she felt him grab her butt. She stopped immediately and whipped around.

"Jacob Ben Israel, don't touch me again, or I promise you you'll regret it." Jacob pulled his hand away and smiled creepily at Rachel.

"I don't think anything with you involved can make me regret anything, you're just so beautiful." Rachel slowly backed away and shook her head.

"Just stay away from me." As she turned around Jacob reached his hand out again.

"Rachel, please wait." He pleaded and when his hand touched her shoulder he felt himself be shoved into the lockers before she could even turn around again. When she did, she saw Puck pushing Jacob against the locker and the other boy having a terrified look on his face.

"Touch her again," Puck spoke harshly, making Jacob squirm, which only resulted in Puck pulling Jacob away from the lockers before slamming him into it again. "And I'll end you." Rachel looked around to see the school staring at them, just waiting for a fight to happen. She ran to Puck and tried to pull his arms away from Jacob's shirt.

"Noah, stop." Puck looked at Rachel before giving Jacob a death glare.

"No one messes with my bro, got it?" Jacob nodded and Puck let him go. Puck grabbed Rachel's arm lightly and the two walked away and Jacob immediately ran in the opposite direction. Puck shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor and Rachel nervously played with the hem of her skirt while the two walked in silence. Before they turned around the corner to go to the choir room, Puck stopped Rachel.

"Sorry about that." Rachel smiled and shook her head.

"It's fine, thank you for helping me out there though." Puck smiled back and nodded.

"No one messes with my friends. One time he was messing with the guys on the football team and I made sure he stopped, another time he tried to mess with Brittany when Santana wasn't here and I threw him in the dumpster." Rachel laughed a little bit.

"You're a good friend." Puck shrugged and kicked the floor embarrassedly.

"Nah, it was nothing. I just get pissed when he messes with people, especially my friends." Rachel laughed and started pulling him towards the choir room.

"Tell me more about how you heroically save those that fall victim from Jacob." Puck rolled his eyes.

"You make it sound better than it is." The two walked into Glee with Puck talking about he saved everyone from dealing with Jacob, and Rachel thought it was pretty sweet of him, despite how much he claimed he was a badass when she voiced it out loud. As they took their seats Rachel looked over to the other side of the chairs, where Santana was sitting with Brittany, clearly upset. Rachel quickly looked away before Santana could look her way, and she turned to see Kurt and Mercedes walk in.

"Hi, Rachel." Kurt greeting, moving to sit on the other side of Rachel with Mercedes next to him.

"Hello, Kurt, Mercedes." Rachel said, looking straight ahead with her arms crossed. Kurt and Mercedes looked at each other confused.

"Um, what's up?" Mercedes asked.

"Did you two happen to tell Jacob about New York?"

"Jacob overheard me and Mercedes talking about our dreams in New York," Kurt had a dreamy look when he mentioned his dreams and forced himself back to reality with the shake of his head before continuing. "And we talked about you and Jacob overheard and started being creepy." Kurt scowled as he thought of his experience with Jacob.

"Seriously, that boy would not shut up about you, I think he likes you." Mercedes said with an equally disgusted look. Rachel sighed.

"Well, I found out how much he likes me when he kept trying to molest me in the hall," Mercedes and Kurt gave Rachel a concerned look and Rachel continued. "But Noah came so it was fine."

"Next time I'll beat the shit outta him, no one messes with my bro." Puck said with a proud grin. Just then Finn walked in and frowned when he noticed both the seats next to Rachel were taken. He looked at Kurt and grinned before walking up to him.

"Hey Kurt," Finn said and Kurt looked up. "Wanna trade seats with me?" Kurt looked between Kurt, Mercedes, and Rachel, and Finn pointed to the empty seat next to Mercedes. "That one's free." Kurt nodded and moved seats, letting Finn sit next to Rachel. He sat down and leaned next to her, giving her his dopey grin.

"Hey, Rachel." Rachel sighed.

"Hello, Finn."

"Can't wait to hear you sing." Finn said, leaning closer to Rachel. Rachel sighed and leaned back in her chair, waiting for Mr. Schuester to come in. When he did, he separated everyone with their partners, Santana crossed her arms and legs, purposely looking away from Rachel. When Brittany started getting up to walk to Artie, Santana gently pulled her down and gave Artie a death glare, making him wheel himself to the farthest corner of the room. Quinn looked at Santana with a confused look and stayed sitting down, looking between Santana and Rachel. Rachel sighed and stayed in her seat until Puck got up and suddenly pulled her up and over his shoulder, making Rachel squeak loudly and getting everyone's attention.

"Puck, what are you doing?" Mr. Schuester asked when he looked up from his papers. Finn gapped at Puck and quickly stood in front of him.

"Hey, man, what's the big deal?" Puck snorted and both of them, and rolled his eyes when he noticed Finn move his eyes from staring at Puck to Rachel's ass.

"Out of the way, Finnocence," He pushed Finn out of the way and called back to Mr. Schuester. "Don't worry Mr. Schue, I'll bring her back." Rachel scoffed and crossed her arms as she hung over Puck's shoulder and looked away embarrassedly as everyone watched her. Once they were outside the door Puck set her down and Rachel kept her arms crossed, glaring at him.

"Alright, spit it out." Puck said, crossing his arms to mimic Rachel.

"Excuse me?" Puck rolled his eyes.

"What's going on between you and Santana? She looked pretty pissed and you looked depressed as hell all day."

"Nothing I-" Puck tilted his head and glared at her. Rachel sighed and tried again. "I had a…disagreement with her." Puck groaned.

"What kind of disagreement." Rachel frowned and rubbed her neck.

"Well, I may have blown up at her face in the bathroom…" Puck opened his mouth to say something, but Rachel cut him off. "She doesn't even want to talk to me, let alone be my friend. She'll never remember me, not the old me she was friends with…" Rachel's voice died out and she looked down sadly. Puck stared at her for a few seconds, letting her sulk, before slapping her across the head loudly, making her wince and grab her head in pain. "Wha-"

"You're my Jewish Princess and all, but damn you're being pretty dumb right now," Rachel looked offended and opened her mouth to speak, but Puck held up his finger. "Shut it," He spoke harshly, making her close her mouth instantly. "If Santana wanted nothing to do with you, she wouldn't have even let you near her, let alone her house. And I've seen her walking to you in the halls, so I'm pretty sure she doesn't hate you or want anything to do with you." Puck crossed his arms again and Rachel blinked.

"Oh…" She said. Rachel thought about it, realizing Puck was right. She looked up and smiled at Puck. "Thank you, I needed that."

"No problem," Puck said with a nod. He wrapped his arm around her neck somewhat tightly, making her try to pull his arm away. "Now go apologize before I kick your ass." Rachel grinned and Puck pulled her in with both of them laughing. The choir room became quiet again and they stopped and looked up at everyone.

"What?" They both said in unison, making everyone turn back their attention to their partner. Puck dragged Rachel towards Santana, stopping right in front of the Latina, who looked up at him with a scowl.

"What do you two want?" Puck grinned and let go of Rachel, only to push her right into Santana, hard. Santana and Rachel gasped in surprise, and Santana raised her arms just as Rachel crashed into her lap. They both looked up to Puck, who was already walking away. Rachel sighed and looked at Santana. Santana turned away from glaring at the back of Puck's head to Rachel and started getting slightly red.

Rachel didn't realize the position they were in until much later, and when she did she blushed too. Rachel was sitting right on Santana's lap, and Santana's hands were loosely wrapped around Rachel, making their faces centimeters apart. Santana cleared her throat and Rachel jumped and quickly scrambled off of Rachel. Rachel stood awkwardly in front of Santana, who started looking between Brittany and Quinn.

"Um…guys, you mind?" Brittany smiled and jumped up.

"Sure Santana, whatever you need," She skipped to Quinn and grabbed both of her hands. "C'mon, Quinn, let's go." Quinn gave Santana and Rachel one last look as she let herself be pulled by Brittany. Rachel took Brittany's seat and watched Brittany drag Quinn to Artie with her and cling to the shorter blonde.

"Santana," Rachel began, playing with the hem of her skirt nervously. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I didn't mean it." Santana scoffed.

"Whatever, you're right anyway; I'm just the heartless bitch cheerleader and you're a loser, after all, it's just because of Glee that we're talking." Santana said, copying Rachel's words from earlier. Rachel sighed and turned towards Santana a little.

"I'm really sorry, I just…freaked." Santana groaned and turned towards Rachel too.

"About what?" Santana asked and Rachel looked out at everyone.

"I don't know, it's just-you don't know what it's like to get slushied everyday, and then have someone popular like you be talking to me," Rachel looked back at Santana and smiled sadly. "I was just afraid that this is the only reason why, that you wouldn't want me for anything else. That I was just nothing to you." Santana frowned and rubbed her forehead.

"Look, if I apologized for fucking sleeping on you, obviously you're not nothing to me." Rachel smiled at Santana.

"Really?"

"Well, you dress like a grandma," Santana said, motioning towards her clothes. "And you're a midget, and a loser I guess, even though you look like you're best friends or something with Puck, but you're pretty okay."

"Really?" Santana rolled her eyes.

"Is that all you're saying now?" Rachel gave Santana a nervous laugh.

"No…" Santana stared at Rachel with an unreadable expression and Rachel got worried until Santana smiled and shook her head. Santana got up and motioned Rachel to do the same.

"Come on, let's get to work." Rachel smiled and got up happily, and when she started working with Santana, her eyes met with Puck's and he gave her a wink that made her grin in silent thanks.


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: **It's been so long since the last update, and I'm really sorry for that. I've been busy with school and I have finals, so I'm not sure when the next update will be. But here's the next chapter, and thanks for all the reviews all you are giving me, they mean a lot.

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><p>"I don't wanna concentrate…" Rachel sighed as she sat on the edge of Santana's bed. Next to her was Santana, laying across her bed, having just taken a shower to wash off the sweat from Cheerio practice. After Rachel came over they tried to think of a song to sing together, but Santana hadn't been very cooporative the entire time, choosing to complain in bed. Though Rachel couldn't blame her, she'd seen the way Sue ran her practices. Santana started closing her eyes and dozing off, and Rachel cursed, having that already happen to her. She reached over and shoved Santana's shoulder.<p>

"Santana, wake up," Santana mumbled something in her sleep, and Rachel laughed. "Cute, but we have to do this duet." Rachel sat on her knees and used both her hands to shake Santana awake. Santana moved onto her back and reached out, grabbing Rachel and pulling the shorter girl closer to her. Rachel squeaked and fell down towards the bed. Rachel reached up and tried to pull Santana's arms away from her, but the Latina just wrapped her arms around Rachel's shoulders tighter and snuggled closer to her. After struggling to pull Santana's arms away for a long time, she gave up and just laid in bed. "Great…" Rachel sighed and turned around, facing Santana. She studied the Latina's face and realized she hadn't been this close to Santana in a long time.

The last time they were this close was back at the orphanage, times when Rachel had been crying or hurt because someone bullied her and Santana would sneak into her bed at night to comfort her. Or when Rachel first came and she would hide behind Santana. Rachel couldn't help but smile at the memories that came back at her. Rachel closed her eyes, falling asleep in Santana's arms thinking of their childhood.

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><p>Santana sat up straight on her bed, her eyes still closed. She groaned and yawned before finally opening them. She groaned as she looked around her room, seeing it slightly darker and cursed for getting so tired after practices. She closed them again and dropped back down on her back. She turned to her side and spread her arm out, hitting it on something she was sure wasn't her bed. Opening her eyes, she saw Rachel sleeping directly in front of her, her face centimeters from hers. She jumped back in surprise and fell off the bed, making a loud bang that woke Rachel with a start. She sat up and looked around.<p>

"Santana?" She called out, and Santana groaned in response as she rubbed the back of her head. Rachel crawled to the edge of the bed and looked down to see Santana on the floor. She frowned and got off the bed to kneel down next to the Latina. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Santana nodded. "Just hit my head." Rachel nodded and stood up, holding out her hand for Santana. She gratefully took it and allowed the shorter girl to pull her up, and didn't expect Rachel to pull her up so easily that she nearly fell forward and onto Rachel. Rachel quickly held her hands up to Santana's shoulders to steady the taller girl. Santana blinked a bit and grinned down at the smaller girl. "Damn Berry, who knew you had muscle in that tiny body?" Rachel blushed and moved her hands away and Santana noticed the lack of pressure of her hands immediately.

"Well, excersing is important, and it's something that I've always done," Rachel shrugged. "But after all you are on the Cheerios, so I think you're still stronger anyway."

"I don't know, maybe you'd be a good Cheerio." Rachel stuttered for a moment before quickly shaking her head. Rachel, a Cheerio with Sue Sylvester as her coach? She didn't think so.

"I don't think that would work out, besides I-" Santana laughed and put her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'm kidding." Rachel let out a sigh of relief and walked to the other side of the room where she had placed her backpack while Santana moved to the bed and laid down again.

"Santana, we're extremely behind, so no more naps," She grabbed her ipod turned around to see Santana on her side, faced away from Rachel. Rachel sighed and walked to Santana, and began shoving her arm. "Santana, come on." Santana started laughing and looked up to Rachel with a grin, making her roll her eyes. She walked around Santana and sat down next to her.

"Oh god, there's more than musicals in there, right?" Rachel scoffed before shaking her head.

"There's nothing wrong with musicals, but yes, Noah gave me a lot of music and I have found some bands, so there's not a lot of musicals." Santana smiled in relief and grabbed one of the ear buds of Rachel's headphones.

"Let's see what you got here." She motioned for Rachel to lay down next to her and Rachel did so. Soon enough, both had an earphone in and was just listening to music. Santana was on her back with her eyes closed and Rachel was staring at Santana. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help it, the Latina looked so peaceful. Rachel sighed and looked back up at the ceiling, frowning slightly.

"What's wrong?" The words made her jump and Rachel looked over to see Santana looking at her calmly.

"Just thinking." Rachel said and Santana raised her eyebrows slightly and looked up at the ceiling.

"Me too." She said, and the two fell into silence. Rachel shifted slightly, wanting to know more about what Santana was thinking about, but didn't want to dig too deep and ruin what she already had with the Latina. After debating with herself, she finally let herself talk.

"Um, I know that it's not my place to but in and everything, because I've learned nobody likes someone who goes into other people's business, but um," Rachel paused and bit her bottom lip. "Um, do you want to talk about it?" Santana was quiet for some time, and Rachel was scared Santana was going to suddenly kick her out.

"Sure," Santana said and Rachel looked over to see her on her side, staring at her. Rachel turned on her side as well so that she was facing Santana. "But this stays between us, got it?" Rachel nodded and Santana sighed, not knowing where to start. "Ya know, I didn't have the greatest childhood ever," Rachel felt herself stiffen, because she knew, oh she _knew_ how hard it was for both of them. Santana took a deep breath and continued. "And I kind of shut it out, but it's been coming back lately and I don't know why." There was a pause and Rachel thought she was going to continue, but when the pause became complete silence for more than a few seconds, Rachel realized that Santana wasn't going to continue talking.

"So," Rachel spoke in a quiet voice and her hand curled into a fist, hanging onto the covers under her tightly. "Do you remember specifics?" Santana shrugged.

"Not really, it's all fuzzy." Any hope that Rachel had was gone, Santana didn't remember her at all yet. "What about you?" Rachel blinked and looked at Santana.

"Huh?" Santana rolled her eyes.

"I told you what was on my mind, you better tell me what's on yours." Rachel nodded and slightly inched forward toward Santana.

"Well, I've been thinking about someone, really."

"It isn't Finnept, is it? Cuz anyone who has a crush on that giant is an idiot." Rachel laughed softly and shook her head.

"No, not Finn," She scowled as she thought of what it'd be like kissing him and thought of how she'd have to crane her neck to an uncomfortable angle just to give him a quick peck on the cheek. Santana saw her expression and laughed, making Rachel snap out of her thoughts. She grinned and laughed with Santana, and when their laughter finally settled down she continued. "I've been thinking of someone else, a …an old friend." She said.

"From New York?" Santana asked, looking interested in what Rachel had to say.

"Kind of," Rachel said softly and Santana furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but didn't say anything. "We were close but she's gone, and I can't stop thinking of her."

"Gone, as in…" Santana said softly, unsure of her word choice, and Rachel looked at Santana before realizing how she said the words and slightly smiled.

"Not like that, she's alive and well, but…" Santana looked relieved that the friend hadn't died. Rachel already told her about a death, and Santana didn't want to know if there were more in Rachel's life. In her mind, one death is more than enough, and she knew the exact feeling of losing someone. "But we've fallen apart, and I just want to get to know her again." Santana nodded and the two sat in silence before Santana breaking it.

"Hey, I'm sure you and your friend will work things out." Rachel looked at Santana brightly and gave her a wide smile.

"I hope so." Santana smiled at her and the two turned back on their backs and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before Santana spoke up again.

"Hey, can I see your iPod for a sec?" Rachel looked at Santana and passed her iPod over, watching Santana stare at the screen. Santana grinned and looked back up at Rachel. "I think I got a song." Rachel smiled and looked at the screen. It wasn't that bad. Rachel smiled and nodded and the two began to work on the song. They didn't know how long they spent on it, but they didn't stop until Rachel and Santana both heard the front door open and close, accompanied by two voices. Santana sighed and got up.

"Time to meet the parents." Rachel swallowed harshly and Santana rolled her eyes. "Please, they aren't gonna kill you." With that, she grabbed Rachel's wrist and led her down the stairs, finally letting go when they were at the bottom and Rachel followed her to the kitchen.

"Hey, Papi, Ma." Santana's parents looked up and smiled at their daughter.

"Hey Santana, who's your friend?" Santana's father said, nudging his head toward Rachel. Rachel smiled and walked forward, holding out her hand to Santana's father, who took.

"My name is Rachel Berry, Mr. and Mrs. Lopez." She extended her hand to Santana's mother, who laughed lightly as she shook it.

"No need to be so formal," She said and Rachel smiled. "You're Santana's friend, after all." Rachel smile dropped a little at the word friend. She wasn't even a hundred percent sure that Santana thought of her as a friend.

"I'm in Glee Club with her." Rachel said and they both nodded.

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Rachel quickly shook her head.

"No, I wouldn't want to impose, and I have to get going home now anyway, and, um," Rachel paused slightly, nervously. "I'm vegan." She heard Santana behind her make a disgusted noise and saw Santana's mother give her a disapproving look before smiling back at Rachel.

"Well, next time you're over, I'll make sure to cook something vegan for you." Rachel smiled and nodded and turned back to Santana.

"I'll, um, get my things now." Santana nodded and followed Rachel upstairs. She turned around and saw Santana leaning against the doorway.

"So, practice again tomorrow?" Rachel nodded and Santana pushed herself off the doorframe. "Sweet, I'll drive you home." Rachel nodded thankfully and said goodbye to her parents as she walked out the door. They climbed into Santana's car and the drive to her house was short. When Rachel unbuckled her seatbelt she turned to Santana and smiled.

"Thank you for the drive home, I really appreciated it." Santana shrugged and Rachel sat awkwardly for a few moments. She felt like she should hug Santana, but she wasn't sure if the other girl would appreciate it. Santana fidgeted in her seat, starting to get uncomfortable as well. She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and cleared her throat.

"So, um…" Rachel jumped and smiled embarrassedly as she opened the car door.

"Sorry, so, um, see you at school tomorrow." Santana nodded and Rachel reached for the car handle and pushed the door open. She was about to get out when Santana reached forward and gently grabbed Rachel's wrist.

"Hey, tomorrow, if you want after practicing on that song, you could stay for dinner," Rachel blinked and stared at Santana blankly. Santana took it as a bad sign and pulled her hand back. "Or not, doesn't matter." Santana said.

"No, I mean, yes," Rachel said quickly and Santana raised her eyebrows at her. "I would love to stay at your house for dinner," Santana smiled and Rachel frowned slightly. "Do you even know vegan recipes?"" Santana groaned and turned away slightly.

"Crap." Santana turned back to Rachel. "Don't worry, I gots this." Santana said confidently and Rachel raised her eyebrows.

"Are you sure? Because I can-"

"Berry, please, I'm Santana fucking Lopez, I got everything under control," Rachel gave her a disbelieving look and Santana scoffed. "Stop giving me that look or I'll kick your ass." She threatened but her voice was light and she had a playful grin on her face. Rachel laughed and stepped out of the car.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Lopez." Santana's grin grew bigger and Rachel waved Santana goodbye before closing the door and walking up to her front door. Santana watched until Rachel went inside before driving back home, thinking of something Rachel could eat.

* * *

><p>Rachel walked in to find Shelby in the kitchen cooking dinner. She was a little surprised, usually Shelby concentrated on the show choir she kept mentioning, forcing her to stay at the school long after the school day ended.<p>

"Hi, mom." Rachel said and Shelby turned around and smiled at her before turning back to the food.

"Hey honey, how was your time at your friends?"

"Fine," Rachel replied. "Um, I'll need to go again tomorrow to practice for the song, and they invited me over for dinner." Shelby finished cooking again and grabbed two plates.

"You have a music class?" Rachel frowned.

"What? No, Glee Club," Shelby paused what she was doing and looked at Rachel confused. "I…never told you?" Shelby shook her head and Rachel sighed. The communication between them had never been good, ever since the day Shelby brought Rachel home, and they both knew it. Shelby tried to improve it over the years but Rachel could never seem to be as open to Shelby as she was to her dads, who she told everything to, never expecting that one day they would be gone.

The dinner was spent with Rachel telling Shelby about Glee Club and the project Mr. Schuester had them doing. She told Shelby about Puck being in the club too, something Shelby wasn't sure if she should take it as a good thing or not after meeting the boy. She also told her about Santana. Well, everything except how cold the girl was to her in the beginning. After dinner, Rachel went up to her room and called Puck, who answered immediately, and told him what happened.

"Wait, you _just_ picked a song?" Puck asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah, why?"

"Um, bro, tomorrow is our last day to work on it…" Rachel's eyes widened and she she mentally cursed. She knew her and Santana had been a little late picking a song, but not that late.

"That's just great," Rachel muttered and Puck laughed. "That's not funny," Rachel said but Puck only laughed harder. "Noah!" Rachel practically yelled and Puck's laugh finally died down.

"Sorry, bro, but hey, at least you get all of tomorrow," Rachel nodded even though Puck couldn't see her. Puck suddenly started laughing lightly. "You tow having dinner, bet you'll have fun on your date." Rachel blushed at the word date.

"I'm eating with her family, that's all." Rachel stuttered a bit and Puck kept laughing.

"Ooh, meeting the parents, huh." Rachel could practically see him wringling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner and rolled her eyes but smiled anyways.

"Goodnight, Noah." When she heard him say his goodnight back, she hung up the phone and laid down in bed. She closed her eyes and thought of the dinner she was going to have, and that she finally found that Santana remembered _something_. She knew she shouldn't be so hopeful, but she was and she only hoped she wasn't setting herself up to be hurt.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N:** This chapter was longer than I expected, but here it is. Thank you everyone for the reviews and...I really got nothing else to say right now, other than I'm glad my friend convinced me to get that tumblr a few weeks ago (everything's filled with pezberry, faberry, and puckleberry, and other nice tings) so enjoy.

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><p>To say Rachel was nervous was an understatement. She was so anxious that she couldn't stop moving, so much that instead of using her elliptical, she went out for a jog much longer than her usual workout. She came back exhausted and took one of the fastest showers she ever had, since running made her run a bit later than usual. She came down the stairs and to the kitchen, where Shelby raised her eyebrows at her.<p>

"You're later than usual." Shelby said, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah," Rachel said quickly, getting an apple from the counter. "Bye." She said, giving Shelby a half wave and walking quickly to her car. Shelby watched the girl go and when the door closed her turned back to her newspaper.

"That was weird." She said to the empty room, usually Rachel was never late for anything. She remembered the dinner Rachel mentioned and Shelby wondered who Rachel was having dinner with that made the girl so much more antsy than usual. Shelby thought of the girl, and remembered Rachel saying her friend's name was Santana.

Her eyebrows furrowed at the name, she felt like she heard that name before, like it was a little familiar. She looked at the time and shrugged the feeling off, thinking nothing of it.

* * *

><p>Rachel parked into one of the parking spaces farthest from the school, and sighed, that was what she got for being late. When she turned off the car she grabbed her backpack from the passenger seat and opened it. After going through it for a few minutes she pulled out two pieces of paper that had recipes on them. She knew Santana told her not to worry, but she still worried a little bit. Plus, she figured if Santana didn't have a clue what her family could make for Rachel in the end, at least she could give her something they could cook.<p>

She smiled at the papers, thinking of the dinner but quickly scolded herself, after all, it wasn't a date or anything despite what Puck said. She got out of the car and noticed someone else had parked next to her. She didn't think much of it and quickly closed the door to get out of the way when the passenger side door of the other car opened and Quinn stepped out.

Quinn closed her door and raised an eyebrow at Rachel, who stood awkwardly in front of her. Before either of them could do anything, Rachel felt herself be knocked back against her car and strong arms around her. All Rachel saw was blond in front of her and patted the girl's back, already knowing who had tackled her.

"U-um, Brittany, I can't move…" Brittany stepped back and smiled at her. "But it is good to see you too." Rachel said and Brittany beamed at her.

"Hi Rachy, did you know you're really soft?" Rachel blushed slightly and laughed nervously.

"No, I didn't, but thank you for telling me." Brittany nodded at Rachel and someone cleared their throat. The three girls turned to see Santana leaning against the front of the car, looking at them with her arms crossed.

"Hey," Santana paused, as if she wasn't sure what to say. Her face hardened a little bit and she nodded towards Rachel. "Berry." She should have known spending the day at Santana's house would do nothing when they were at school. Still, even though she should have been happy that Santana didn't call her RuPaul or, it seemed everyone's favorite, Manhands, she still couldn't help but feel a little crushed. She looked down to try and hide the hurt look on her face from Santana, who felt guilty.

"Oh c'mon, B, S, let's go." Came Quinn's voice and Rachel looked up to see Quinn already walking away. Brittany bit her bottom lip and looked at Rachel sadly before running up behind Quinn. Rachel looked at Santana, who looked caught between following them and staying behind. Finally, Santana mouthed an apology and followed Quinn as well, leaving Rachel by herself.

* * *

><p>Santana and Brittany followed Quinn silently, both of them feeling guilty for leaving Rachel in the parking lot. Quinn stopped at her locker and when she opened it to get her books, she eyed Santana curiously. Sighing, Quinn slammed her locker closed.<p>

"Well?" Quinn asked and Santana looked at her confused.

"Well what?" Quinn rolled her eyes.

"Do you really consider her a friend or not? Because if not I can just get everyone to slushy her."

"No," Santana said quickly and harshly at the mention of Rachel being slushied. Quinn raised an eyebrow and gave her a knowing smirk, making Santana groan. "Listen, Q, just say what you want already." Santana spat impatiently.

"You're an idiot." Quinn simply said.

"Excuse me?"

"You're acting like you hate her, and it's kind of bitchy." Santana gaped at her.

"Look at you!" Santana said, motioning to Quinn. "You're a bitch and everyone knows it, and you jump at the chance to insult and slushy people."

"Not like you don't." Quinn said and Santana immediately closed her mouth. It was true, she could make anyone cry with her insults and Rachel wasn't an exception when she first arrived to McKinley. As she thought about her, her eyes instinctively started to search for the small brunette and quickly found her at her locker with Puck. She thought about the time she was with Rachel and saw that the girl wasn't so bad, and was pretty easy to talk to.

"Well, I don't mind her, but if she _is _a loser slushies won't hurt…" Quinn said, looking for a football player with a cup, and Santana snapped out of her thoughts.

"Oh hells no," Santana said, making Quinn look back at her. "Listen, Rachel doesn't get slushied anymore, cuz she's not that bad," Santana looked back at Rachel and sighed, before turning to Quinn. "I gots to go, later." She gave Brittany a wave and walked to the other side of the hallway to where Rachel and Puck were still at her locker. Quinn leaned against the lockers with her arms folded watching Santana make her way through the hall easily, with the other students practically jumping out of her way.

"Quinn?" Quinn looked over at Brittany, who was looking back at forth between Santana and Quinn. "Does that mean we don't have to be mean to Rachy?" Quinn smiled and nodded, making Brittany smile brightly and jump up and down clapping. "So, you don't hate her?" Quinn sighed and watched Rachel from across the hall.

"I don't hate her, besides, I knew there was something interesting about her the second she came to this school," Brittany hugged Quinn happily at the statement. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to be her best friend either." Quinn said quickly and Brittany smiled at Quinn.

"That's fine, you just need to get to know her."

"First she needs to get better clothes…" Quinn muttered and Brittany took Quinn's hand, making her jump a little and she stared at their joined hands. With a smile Brittany skipped to her locker, forcing Quinn to follow.

* * *

><p>When Santana reached Rachel's locker, Rachel was laughing at something Puck said and she slapped his arm. Santana looked back down the hall to see Brittany dragging Quinn away and Santana smiled. Quinn looked back, meeting Santana's eye, and pointed to Rachel in a way that said, <em>you better fix things<em> and Santana rolled her eyes at Quinn. Turning back to Rachel and Puck, who still hadn't seen her yet, she cleared her throat.

Rachel looked over and when she saw it was Santana, she quickly faced her locker again. Puck crossed his arms and stood up a little straighter, giving Santana a dirty look, which she made sure to give back before turning to Rachel.

"Hey, Rachel."

"So it's 'Rachel' now?" Santana cursed under her breath and fiddled with her cheerios skirt.

"Look, sorry about earlier, it was kind of shitty of me to do that." Rachel nodded and Puck scoffed.

"A little?" Santana scowled and glared at him.

"Listen Puckerman, I'm trying to apologize to her and if you gots nothing useful to say shut it before I cut that animal you call a Mohawk off your head." Puck glared at Rachel and brought his hand up to his Mohawk defensively.

"You wouldn't." Santana smiled sweetly at him and before either of them could threaten the other, Rachel slammed her locker hard enough that both of them jumped.

"Don't worry Noah, I'm sure she wouldn't follow through with that threat, not that I would let her anyway." Puck grinned at her last words and brought his hand down.

"Look," Santana said, getting both of their attention. "Q can be a bitch, but she actually doesn't mind you that much, and I made sure she's never going to tell anyone to slushy you again."

"Really?" Rachel asked and Santana nodded. "No more name calling or last names?" Santana nodded again.

"Just Rachel.." Rachel smiled brightly and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Santana. Santana huffed in surprise and laughed lightly, hugging Rachel back.

"You know, you're not so bad, Lopez," Santana rolled her eyes but gave Puck a smile anyway. Puck grinned and slapped Rachel on the back. "Later bro, have fun on your date with Satan tonight." Rachel untangled herself from Santana and glared at Puck.

"It's just dinner!" "That's not my name!" Both Rachel and Santana yelled at the same time and Puck raised his hands in surrender as he walked away.

"So, told Puck about the dinner?" Santana asked and Rachel nodded.

"I hope you don't mind."

"Nah, it's fine." Santana said with a shrug. Rachel smiled and remembered the recipes and she quickly went through her bag. Grabbing the papers, she turned to Santana and held them out to her.

"I know you said not to worry about it, but I figured I should give you at least some recipes. Though it's not like I thought you couldn't handle finding vegan dishes, but um…" Rachel trailed off, watching Santana. She had snatched the papers out of Rachel's hands and was currently look at them curiously.

"Yeah, my mom got everything under control, but that's cool, I'll just keep these for later," Santana folded the pieces of papers and shoved them into her backpack. She smiled at Rachel and lightly shoved her shoulder. "C'mon, let's go." Rachel smiled and walked next to Santana to class.

* * *

><p>"You sure it's not a date?" Rachel sighed as she looked at the ceiling from Puck's bed. She had decided to spend some time with him before going to Rachel's house while he waited for Mike to come over so they could play video games.<p>

"Yes, I'm sure." She sat up and watched Puck play the game on the floor at the foot of his bed. As much as she said it wasn't a date, she was still nervous. It seemed, the more Rachel thought about it, the more she realized she was just nervous in general when she was around Santana. For all she knew, Santana could suddenly remember everything one day when they are with each other. Sighing, she got up and started pacing Puck's room.

"It's just that she remembered things, Noah, she remembered something and maybe she will remember me today, at the dinner," Rachel said, and began muttering to herself. "While eating the dinner, which makes me wonder, what did her family cook?" Puck gave her a confused look as she began talking to herself more than him.

"Rachel," Puck said loudly, making her stop her pacing and look at him. "Chill, bro, even if she doesn't remember anything, at least she'll know you better, right?" Rachel nodded and the doorbell rang.

"I should get going." Rachel grabbed her things and walked to the door, where Mike stood. Mike grinned at her and after saying their hello's, Mike went up to Puck's room and Rachel walked to her car.

* * *

><p>Rachel parked her car and looked at the time on her phone, hoping she wasn't too early. Luckily, she wasn't and looked at the Lopez's driveway, and sure enough Santana's car was parked. Getting out of the car, she walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.<p>

She didn't have to wait long and heard footsteps getting closer from the other side, followed by something Spanish that Rachel didn't understand. The door opened, revealing Santana's mother, who smiled at her.

"Hello, Mrs. Lopez." Santana's mother smiled and opened the door wider for Rachel to come in.

"You must be Rachel," Rachel nodded and Mrs. Lopez smiled. "You don't have to be so formal, call me Ana, and Carlos is in the kitchen." Santana had come down at that moment and groaned at the exchange from the last step of the stairs, making both of them look at her.

"Ma, making my friends call you by your first name doesn't make you younger, just to let you know." Ana gave her daughter a stern look.

"You'll be my age before you know, Santana Lopez," Santana scowled at the thought and turned to Rachel.

"Let's go to my room." Rachel nodded and gave Ana one last smile before walking up the stairs with Santana. As they made their way down the hall, Rachel noticed loud music coming from the bedroom across from next to Santana's. Santana stopped in front of the door and began pounding on it. It quickly opened and an older boy leaned against the doorframe, looking at her with a bored expression.

"Hey sis," He noticed Rachel and smiled widely at her. "Who's your friend? I haven't seen her before." The boy winked at her and Rachel frowned a little, unsure f what to do.

"You're disgusting," Santana said with a scoff and turned to Rachel. "This is Felix, my annoying brother."

"Older brother." Felix corrected and Santana rolled her eyes.

"Turn the music down cuz me and Rachel gots to work on the song." With that she walked to her room and Rachel smiled politely at Felix as she walked past him. Once inside Santana's room, she sat on the bed as Santana closed the door.

"I didn't know you had a brother," Rachel said as Santana grabbed her laptop and sat next to Rachel. "How come I didn't see him last time?"

"He's usually busy with college, since it's his first year and all, and he's got work, plus he spends a lot of nights at friend's places." Santana said with a shrug.

"Oh." Rachel said and watched as Santana grabbed her laptop and sat next to Rachel, looking at the laptop the entire time. As she got a page with the lyrics open, she looked at Rachel and smiled.

"What about you? You got annoying siblings?" Rachel shook her head.

"I'm an only child," Rachel said a little sadly. "So it can get lonely sometimes." Rachel knew Shelby wouldn't adopt another kid, and she wondered if her dads would have gotten another child if they were still alive.

"That sucks…" Santana muttered and looked at the wall separating hers and Felix's room. She guessed that she was happy that Felix was around, especially when she was younger. He watched out for her and when she was feeling down he tried to make her days a little brighter. When their parents were gone all day, he was around so she wouldn't be stuck at home bored out of her mind. Other than her parents, he was the only other person that made her feel loved when she was first adopted, making her first few days more bearable.

"Well, there's nothing I could do about it." Rachel's voice snapped Santana out of her thoughts and she looked up at Rachel, who was leaning towards her to look at the lyrics on the screen.

"You're not lonely now, right?" The question caught Rachel off guard and she looked up at Santana. Santana was looking at her curiously and Rachel bit her lip as she looked away. She hadn't thought about bit much since moving to Lima, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized she wasn't lonely.

Shelby was trying to be more in Rachel's life, and make up for past mistakes. Rachel had Puck, who was her best friend since the first day she arrived at McKinley. She the Glee Club, and even though she was originally there just for Santana, she thought everyone there was great. She looked back up at Santana, who was stilling staring at her. She had Santana again.

"No," Rachel said with a smile. "I'm not." Santana smiled back and they turned to the song and started practicing.

* * *

><p>They had been practicing for an hour non-stop. They were finishing up the song again, the laptop long forgotten about and laying closed on the bed since they had the lyrics memorized by the tenth run through. Rachel was dancing around the Santana as they sang their last lines, and Santana laughed at the short brunette.<p>

When they were done, they sat on the bed for a break. Santana grinned at Rachel and began talking about how they were going to be the best ones. Rachel laughed and nodded.

"We do sound pretty good together."

"Hell yeah we do, I wonder if Mr. Schue's gonna give us something for winning." Rachel watched as Santana began naming off things that would be useful to get if did give them some kind of reward.

"I'm sure you're hoping for something involving Breadstix." Santana's face lit up at the mention of the name and Rachel laughed.

"Hey," Santana said, playfully pushing Rachel's shoulder. "Don't mess with me and my Breadstix."

"Oh right, I forgot how precious it is to you."

"Damn right," Santana said with a smile. "Me, Q, and Britt go there all the time, you should come with us next time." Rachel's eyes widened and she shook her head.

"Quinn doesn't like me." Santana rolled her eyes.

"Were you even listening to me today? Quinn doesn't not like you, she just doesn't know you," Santana said and shrugged. "It's hard for her to open up and shit, but she's cool once you do, just don't get on her bad side, it's a bitch." Santana knew what it was like to deal with a pissed off Quinn, and she usually didn't have the energy to deal with it. Rachel nodded, but wasn't completely reassured and Santana decided to change the subject and began talking about school in general again.

Soon their conversation turned into Santana telling Rachel stories about the Cheerios. It started when Rachel was curious why Santana was always so tired, and she was horrified of the stories of Sue tormenting all the Cheerios, including Santana. A knock on the door made Santana stop talking and she looked over to see Felix opening the door and looking in.

"Dinner's ready." He said and turned around to walk downstairs. Santana got up and Rachel did the same, still looking a little afraid from the stories.

"I'm going to have nightmares now…" Santana laughed and pushed Rachel forward. "I'm serious, I don't know how you handle her all the time," Santana grinned at the words because sometimes she didn't either. They walked to the kitchen and Felix was already sitting while Santana's parents were doing last minute touches on the food.

"You guys sound pretty good." Felix said when Rachel and Santana sat down across from him. Santana looked at him, surprised.

"You were listening?" Felix nodded and Rachel smiled.

"She does sound nice." Santana blushed and sank lower down her seat.

"Nah, I'm just decent." Felix grinned at her.

"Awe, is Santi getting embarrassed." He said in a baby voice. Santana glared at him and kicked his leg under the table, making him wince in pain.

"Fuck you." Santana spat and Felix smiled innocently at him.

"Santana, you should be nice to your siblings," Rachel said and smiled at Felix before turning to Santana, who was still scowling. "I know I would if I had one."

"See," Felix said. "She'd be an awesome little sister," Santana rolled her eyes as Felix leaned towards Rachel across the table. "Santana hates shooters, do you play them?" Rachel grinned as she thought of all the times she beat Puck in the games they played.

"I do, actually."

"Oh god," Santana muttered and Rachel shoved Rachel lightly, making Santana smile anyway. Just then the dinner was placed on the table and Santana's parent's ad down and began serving themselves. Ana and Carlos looked rather excited to eat, Felix looked curious as he took a tentative bit, and Santana looked completely unsure. Rachel smiled at Santana, who had served herself the least amount of food, and took a bit. Rachel thought it was pretty good, and wondered if Ana and Carlos had ever cooked vegan food before.

"It's not poison, you know." Rachel said when she noticed Santana still hadn't taken a bit.

"I know, but…" Santana sighed and stabbed the food with her fork. She had to tell herself it was for Rachel, and it smelled good, which was a plus. She looked at Rachel, who was smiling at her and took a bite for emphasis. Santana looked back down at her food and whined lightly before taking her first small bite. She had to admit, it was pretty good. She looked back at Rachel, who was giving her a knowing smirk. Santana huffed and turned back to her food.

"It's okay." Rachel's smirk stayed on her face and she turned back to her food as well.

"I know you liked it." Santana and Rachel looked back at each other and gave each other a grin. Rachel continued eating and Santana filled up her plate with more food.

* * *

><p>"Felix, you suck." Santana said and Felix scowled.<p>

"Shut up, why don't you play then?" Felix spat back and Santana grinned as she watched Felix's character get shot. After dinner they had gone to Santana's room a little bit and were practicing again when Felix barged in and asked Rachel to play Call of Duty. Rachel stopped in the middle of the song and nodded, leaving Santana in her room. Santana, having lost Rachel and couldn't do anything without her, had no choice but to follow them to Felix's room and watch them play. Or rather, watch Felix lose.

"Yeah, Santana, why don't you play?" Rachel grinned and Santana lightly smacked the back of Rachel's head.

"Don't side with him." The doorbell rang and Felix got up.

"That's for me," He threw Santana the controller and motioned to Rachel. "You got a pretty cool friend," With that he walked out and called back from the door. "Later, dorks." Santana grabbed his pillow and whipped it at him, which he ducked under easily and stuck out his tongue at Santana. Santana stuck her tongue back out at him and turned back to the TV, and Felix took the opportunity to throw the pillow, which hit the back of Santana's head. Santana turned around to glare at Felix, but he was gone. Sighing, she turned back to the TV and looked at Rachel, who was grinning up at her. Santana smiled as she grabbed the pillow, and smacked Rachel with it as well, making the other girl laugh.

Santana smiled and sat down next to Rachel and began playing the game, with Rachel telling her how the controls worked. Sure enough, Rachel killed Santana's character more than once, and Santana forced her to go easy on her. They fell into a comfortable silence as they played the game, and Santana let out a frustrated sigh, making Rachel turn to look at her.

"What's wrong?" Santana looked at Rachel with an unreadable expression, and kept staring intently at Rachel, as if she was thinking about something. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again.

"Nothing," Santana finally said and turned back to the game. Rachel frowned and thought of saying something when Santana grinned and spoke up again. "Shot you." Rachel blinked and looked back at the screen.

"What? Wait, no way." Rachel said in surprise and Santana laughed.

"Not so tough now, huh?" Rachel smiled and silently played the game, watching Santana out of the corner of her eye. In the end, Santana never said what she seemed like she was going to say, and Rachel had to go home so Santana walked Rachel to the door.

"Thank you for the dinner, it was nice." Santana smiled.

"The food was good." Rachel grinned and patted Santana's shoulder.

"I knew you liked it."

"I still like meat, just to let you know." Santana said and Rachel nodded.

"Of course," Rachel laughed and hugged Santana goodbye and the other girl stiffened under Rachel's touch. "Oh, sorry, I just figured…" Rachel mumbled as she started to let go. Santana quickly hugged her back before she could step away completely, making Rachel slam into Santana again.

"N-no, it's fine, I just…remembered something." Rachel simply nodded against Santana's shoulder, her voice suddenly gone. She was still pressed tightly against Santana, feeling the softness of the other girl's body and her chest rise and fall. After a few seconds she tried to step back, but Santana's arms held her in place and she cleared her throat.

"Santana, um, not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but, um," Santana seemed to snap out of her daze and she let go of Rachel, taking a giant step back. The two stood in front of each other awkwardly and Rachel spoke up again. "I-I should go now."

"Oh, yeah, right." Santana said and Rachel gave her a slight wave before walking off to her car. Santana sighed and watched Rachel drive off before she closed the door. She walked up the stairs and went straight to her room, thinking about the night. It was fun, and Santana thought the food was great, but then she had to make everything awkward in the end. Santana groaned in frustration as she fell face first on to her bed, frustrated with herself.

When she was with Rachel she felt more like herself and it was easy for her to open up to her, but she couldn't help that something was missing when she was around Rachel, like she was forgetting something but had no idea what. She shook her head, figuring it was nothing. She looked at her hands and remembered the feeling of Rachel in her arms. She blushed slightly with embarrassment when she remembered how tight she held the girl. She had no idea why she had done it, but it felt familiar and…nice. Sighing, she stood up and got ready for bed. When she was in bed she decided to try and forget about everything and get some sleep instead.

* * *

><p><em>Santana and Rachel were playing hide and seek outside, in the only part the children were allowed to play at. Rachel was hiding and Santana was looking for her, which was quite a challenge with the tiny girl.<em>

_It took a long time, but she eventually found her hiding in a ditch at the end of the fenced area that Santana nearly fell in and broke her arm. Instead, she slowly made her way to the bottom and to Rachel. At first she frowned at the girl when she noticed Rachel didn't move and was laying on her side on the ground. Walking closer, she realized Rachel had fallen asleep._

_Santana let out a breath of relief and smiled down at the sleeping girl. Santana noticed Rachel had a frown on her face and her eyebrows were furrowed together. Santana crawled on top of Rachel and ran her fingers along her eyebrows, trying to smooth them out._

_When Rachel began whimpering in her sleep, Santana began shaking Rachel lightly. Slowly, Rachel started waking up and blinked, she still had a frown on her face and she looked a little panicked. She started looking around until she looked up and saw Santana staring down at her. Rachel quickly leaned up and wrapped her arms around Santana hard, making Santana almost slip and fall on top of her._

"_What's wrong?" Santana asked after getting her breath back. Santana pulled herself back unwrapped Rachel's arms from around her and held the girl's hands instead. Rachel had tears in her eyes and Santana frowned._

"_I had a nightmare." Rachel said oftly as Santana sat next to her and began wiping away Rachel's tears. "You forgot me," Santana paused and looked at Rachel, who was staring at the grass instead. "It's okay, I'm forgettable, I know…" Santana scooted closer to Rachel and hugged her._

"_It's not okay, and I'd never forget you." Rachel sniffed and hugged Santana back._

"_Promise?" Santana nodded._

"_Promise."_


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter, which ended up shorter than I had planned. Finding a song was kind of difficult, or maybe it was just me, but I did find one and I hope you all like it.

* * *

><p>"<em>I promise."<em>

Santana shot up in bed and rubbed her head, groaning as she thought of the dream. She only just started to re-remember the orphanage, let alone anything that happened there, yet the dream she had was clear in her head. She thought of the promise, surprised she even remembered making it. She remembered where she was when she made it too, outside with all the other kids, but she couldn't remember who she made it to. She knew it was a girl, the girl who was her only friend there, but couldn't remember how she looked like or her name. As Santana tried to remember, her head only hurt more and she gave up.

Sighing, she turned to the clock and saw that it was time to get ready. Today was the day she was going to sing with Rachel. As Santana got ready she decided to just concentrate on the day and what was happening in the present, and try to forget the past. Luckily, her dreams would stop too. Besides, she figured it was better to do that than try to remember someone she'd probably never see again.

* * *

><p>Rachel walked down the hall and spotted Puck by his locker. Grinning, she skipped to him and just as he opened his locker, she stuck his foot out and kicked it closed again. He blinked in surprise and turned around to see who had done it and saw Rachel. She smiled at Puck and held up her hands in defense. Puck grinned and pushed her lightly before turning back to his locker.<p>

"So, how was the date?" Puck asked as he opened his locker.

"It wasn't a date!" Puck laughed and grabbed his books before closing his locker. He turned around and put his arm around Rachel as he led them down the hall.

"Well?" Puck asked.

"It was…eventful, especially at the end," Rachel said as she thought about the night before and the hug Santana pulled her into at the end of the night. On the bright side, they had their song down and Rachel smiled up at Puck. "We sound amazing, just to warn you." Puck raised his eyebrows.

"Look at you, all cocky and shit," They shared a laugh and Puck nudged Rachel slightly. "What you pick?"

"That's a surprise." Puck saw Santana and walked towards her with Rachel.

"Sup." Puck said and Santana looked at him and Rachel.

"Well, if it isn't dumb and dumber." Santana said with a grin and Puck and Rachel looked at each other.

"Who's dumber?" Puck asked and Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Clearly, not me." Puck laughed and pinched Rachel's cheeks as he looked at Santana.

"Look at her, thinking she's so smart, isn't that cute?" Rachel frowned and punched Puck's stomach, making Puck laugh. Santana watched the two and shook her head as the bell rang.

"I gots to get to class, so I'll let you two keep doing your…" Santana motioned to the both of them. "That."

"Hey, we're just being bro's." Puck said.

"But Rachel's a girl…" Santana mumbled and Puck grinned.

"Rachel's my girlbro."

"Huh," Santana said and she turned around. When she began walking away Rachel untangled herself from Puck and ran up to Santana.

"I think we will do an excellent job today in Glee Club, don't you?" Santana looked at Rachel and grinned.

"Hell's yeah, we sound bitchin together." Rachel looked back over her shoulder and grinned at Puck. Puck scoffed and caught up to the both of them and put both of his arms around them as he walked in the middle. Rachel didn't mind, she was used to it, while Santana fidgeted under his arm.

"Please, we all know my sexy voice is better." Rachel laughed.

"Sure Noah, but we all know I can beat you at most games." Puck grinned and looked to Santana.

"Do you know how epic she is?" Puck asked and Santana grinned, remembering when she was watching Felix getting beaten by Rachel in Call of Duty.

"Hell yeah, she kicked my brother's ass in Call of Duty." Rachel smiled at Santana and suddenly felt someone from her other side hug her so hard she almost fell.

"Hello, Brittany." Rachel said, turning around so she could properly hug Brittany, who smiled back at her.

"Hi, Rachy," Brittany said and began hugging Santana and Puck. "Can't wait to hear you sing."

"Thank you, Brittany, you too." Brittany smiled and turned to Quinn, who had been talking to Santana after Brittany tackled Rachel, and waved goodbye. Quinn waved back and looked at Rachel.

"See you, Rachel." She said and walked away, leaving Rachel staring at her retreating form. Santana chuckled lightly and Rachel turned to her.

"Told ya." Santana said with a wink and walked into class.

* * *

><p>By the time the last bell rang, Rachel was excited for the duet. Before she could leave the class, Santana and Quinn were in front of Rachel's desk. She looked up in Surprise and Santana shrugged.<p>

"Hey, we're friends, right? Why not walk together?" Santana said, seeing the surprised look clearly on Rachel's face. Rachel smiled brightly at Santana at the word friends, and nodded. She looked at Quinn, who gave her a small smile, and Rachel got up.

"Yeah." Rachel said and Santana gave her a smile. Together, they walked to Glee Club, with Rachel walking in between Santana and Quinn. Everyone gave her an odd look, but a glare from Santana made them not ask any questions. It was odd, having everyone jump out of her way so she could walk freely. Usually, everyone walked past her and bumped into her all the time, and she had the constant fear of being slushied. It was then that she realized she hadn't hung out with Santana during school much, and she looked at Santana and smiled, hoping that this meant that was going to change.

They walked into the choir room where only some of the members were there. Brittany was dancing with Mike, Artie and Tina were sitting and talking, and Finn was sitting alone looking miserable. He looked up when he heard Santana talking to Quinn and Rachel and narrowed his eyes at her. Rachel saw and unconsciously moved closer to Santana, not liking the look in his eyes.

Finn's gaze followed them as they made their way to the chairs in front of him. As they sat down and talked with Brittany, who had danced her way to them, Rachel felt Finn's gaze move from Santana to her. Even when everyone else started walking in, Rachel thought Finn was going to keep silently glaring at the back of Santana's head and stare at Rachel. Rachel couldn't see his face, but she guessed it was like she kicked his puppy, looking wounded at her and as if it was her fault. When Santana turned towards Rachel and told her a joke, making Rachel laugh, Finn stood up so fast that his chair was knocked back, making everyone go silent and stare at him in surprise. Santana sighed and looked up at him lazily.

"Problem?" Santana asked and looked backed down to examine her nails. Finn looked from Santana to Rachel and frowned at her.

"Rachel, how can you even talk to her?" Santana scoffed, Quinn glared at Finn, and Brittany frowned as she looked between Finn and Rachel with a worried look on her face.

"Ya know, I don't know why anyone would want to talk to _you_." Santana said and Finn growled at her.

"Santana, you're a bitch and you're just going to hurt Rachel," Santana scowled and turned back around in her seat. "You always hurt people, that's who you are and Rachel doesn't need someone like you around." Santana stood up and glared at Finn.

"You don't know me." Santana spat.

"I know enough." Finn and Santana glared at each other and no one else in the room dared to say anything. Puck sat on the edge of his chair, ready to intervene if things got out of hand, and Brittany stood relatively close to Santana.

"Rachel," Finn finally said, turning to Rachel. "You're going to get hurt if you're with her, so why don't you, like," Fin shrugged. "Not sit with her."

"Listen, Finnocence," Finn's gave turned to Santana again. "Rachel can do whatever the hell she wants, and just so you know, I ant't gonna hurt her so," Santana leaned over her chair, towards Finn. "Back. Off. Or I'ma go all Lima Heights on your ass." Santana turned around and sat down again. She folded her arms and crossed her legs as she glared at the floor. Rachel looked back at Santana and then to Finn, finding him still standing. Rachel, still in her chair on the level before his, shrank a little in her seat.

Brittany looked between Finn and Rachel and grabbed Rachel's hands. She tugged the girl up so she was standing and gently pulled her to the end of the back row. Santana watched them out of the corner of her while Finn still glared at Santana. Brittany pulled Rachel to the far seat and sat next to her, slightly blocking Finn's view of Rachel. Just then, Mr. Schuester walked in and stopped in the middle of the choir room. Everyone was unusually silent and kept looking at Rachel, Finn, and Santana.

"Um, Finn, could you, uh, sit down?" Finn nodded and fixed his chair. As he sat down he still glared at the back of Santana's head. Mr. Schuester looked between the two and the rest of the Glee Club, confused. "Um, what's-"

"Oh, hey, Rachy, did I tell you what Lord Tubbington said yesterday?" Everyone turned and looked at Brittany. Rachel blinked and looked at her confused before suddenly laughing and shaking her head. The sound of Rachel's laughter made Santana smile, and suddenly the atmosphere lifted a little.

"No, you didn't." Brittany started telling her story with Rachel smiling and listening. Kurt raised his hand, getting Mr. Schuester's attention.

"Mr. Schuester, I think we should start now." He nodded and started having the pairs sing their duets. When it was time for Fin and Tina, Finn got up and glared at Santana on his way down and was looking longingly at Rachel as he sang. Finally, it was Rachel and Santana's turn. Santana smiled at Rachel as they made their way down. With a nod of Rachel's head, the music started and they sang.

They carved a message deep within our broken hearts that failed to mend:  
>Make out kids never had a chance to be best friends.<p>

(Rachel is normal text, Santana is **bold**, and everyone is _italic._)

_They carved a message deep within our broken hearts that failed to mend:  
>Make out kids never had a chance to be best friends.<em>

Puck grinned, immediately recognizing the song, it was one of the many songs he introduced Rachel to. He caught Rachel's eye and gave her a thumbs up and she grinned back at him._  
><em>  
><strong>She's into math and magazines,<br>Director's cuts and gray cell green  
>Armed with an eye for contradictions,<br>She sees completely through me.**

**I'm fond of Twin Peaks afternoons,  
>Inexpensive wine with cordon bleu..<br>Armed with a plethora of insecurities,  
>we keep each other amused..<strong>

Puck couldn't help himself, and stood up and started singing next to Rachel as he playfully slung his arm around her neck.

_And we sing:_

_Hooray for the madness, we are better by design,  
>Let's hope we'll never have to say goodbye..<br>Say goodbye.  
><em>  
>Snowed in sleep over winter break,<br>Cocktails and miniature mistakes,  
>Lights out, we're covered in each others' warm embrace..<p>

Rachel looked at Santana and wrapped her arms around herself, making Santana roll her eyes and Puck laugh. Somehow, Puck got everyone else to join and they were dancing around Santana and Rachel.

_And we sing:_

_Hooray for the madness, we are better by design,  
>Let's hope we'll never have to say goodbye,<br>Say goodbye.  
><em>_[x2]_

_If we keep swimming, maybe this will never die (never die). __[x4]_

We fail to keep in touch these days,  
>I'm liquid cold, she's murder grey,<br>Hollowed by circumstance that pushed us both away.

_They carved a message deep within our broken hearts that failed to mend:  
>Make out kids never had a chance to be best friends.<em>

The song ended and everyone cheered. Puck stood between Rachel and Santana and put his arms around their shoulders.

"Nice song." Puck said and Rachel looked at Santana and smiled at her.

"It was." Santana smiled back at Rachel as she said the words and Mr. Schuester walked to the group of students, clapping.

"That was great guys," After getting everyone to their seats he clapped his hands together again, which he didn't exactly need to, and spoke again. "So, I think Rachel and Santana are the winners. Any objections?" He looked at everyone, who were shaking their hands. Santana suddenly raised her hand.

"Mr. Schue, do we get something?"

"Actually," Mr. Schuester went to his pile of papers and pulled out two tickets. "I got tickets for a free meal at Breadstix." Santana bounced in her seat and snatched the two tickets out of his hand. "Santana, one's for Rachel…" Santana rolled her eyes.

"I know." Mr. Schuester wasn't sure of that, but he nodded anyway and dismissed everyone. Santana walked to Rachel and waved the tickets in front of her.

"Looks like you got your wish." Santana grinned.

"Looks like you gonna be eating with me, Q, and Britt." Rachel gave the other girls a small smile and walked out with the three girls, all the while trying to ignore Finn staring at her as he was the last one to leave.


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Thank you for all the reviews. Here's the next chapter, which I was going to post later so I can post it with a pezberry fanart for this fic (which would have been on my tumblr) , but it's not finished yet and I don't want to keep everyone waiting for an update, so here it is.

* * *

><p>Santana sighed as she laid in bed, starting at the ceiling. She had woken up a while ago, from a dream again. A dream about <em>her<em>. Sighing, she turned to her side and closed her eyes, remembering it.

_Santana slowly walked up to the petite girl in front of her, who was busy playing in the dirt. She grinned as she came up from behind and wrapped her arms around her. The other girl squeaked and dropped the stick she was using, making Santana giggle and hug her harder._

"_You're so soft," Santana said and looked down at the ground, where there was a stick-figure drawing of two girls. "Is that us?" Santana felt the other girl nod and Santana smiled. "Cool." Santana unwrapped her arms from the girl and moved to sit in front of her, mindful of the picture. She looked at the picture, then started to look up._

Santana groaned, she had another dream about the girl she left behind at the orphanage again, and still couldn't remember a name or face. No matter how many weeks went by, the dreams never ended, nor did the feeling of frustration after. She got up and as she got ready she cursed at herself. Despite the fact that she said she was going to forget the girl, the memories still came back. Just then her phone went off and she answered it angrily.

"What?" She snapped.

"Good morning to you too." Quinn said and Santana sighed, she hadn't even checked who it was.

"Sorry, Q, what's up?"

"Me and B are coming to pick you up."

"Cool, thanks." Santana hung up the phone and continued to get ready. When she heard Quinn's car horn, she walked to the door. Just as she was going to leave, she saw the free Breadstix tickets on her desk and grinned. She quickly grabbed them and walked to Quinn's car.

"Hey guys," She said as she took her place in the backseat and Quinn nodded at her and Brittany smiled brightly. Santana leaned forward in her seat as Quinn drove them and got as close to Quinn and Brittany as she could.

"No, why?"

"Cuz I feel like getting my eats on at Breadstix." Santana pulled out the tickets and waved them as far as she could between the two girls.

"You haven't gone yet?" Quinn asked, surprised. Usually Santana jumped at the chance to go to Breadstix and would eat there all the time if everyone let her.

"Nope, I'm gonna convince Rachel to go with me today and you two are coming with." Santana said, intent on Quinn and Rachel getting to know each other more.

"So we all get to hang out with Rachy today?" Santana nodded and Brittany jumped up and down in her seat happily. "Let's go, Quinn." Quinn sighed and nodded, making Brittany more happy and Santana grinned and leaned back in her seat.

* * *

><p>Rachel sighed as she went through her locker. She had gotten closer to Santana, so much that she was sure Santana considered her a friend too. But Rachel wondered if Santana remembered anything from their past at all.<p>

She was broken out of her thoughts when she felt someone put their hands in her hair and mess it up. Rachel turned around and saw Puck.

"Hello Noah," She greeted as she closed her locker and started walking with him down the hall. "How are you?"

"Fine," Puck said with a shrug. "What about you? You and Santana are getting pretty close," Rachel shrugged and Puck pulled to the side of the hallway. "You think she remembers?"

"I don't know, she hasn't said anything," Rachel said sadly and Puck gave her an sympathetic smile. "What if…what if I just tell her?"

"Do you want to?" Puck asked, knowing all the hardship Rachel was going through all this time, choosing not to tell Santana.

"I don't know what to do anymore."

"Hey, cheer up, you'll think of something." Rachel smiled up at Puck and the two walked to class. When they walked to their seats, they stopped in front of their desks, confused.

"Uh, dude." Puck said, and Santana looked up. She was sitting in Puck's seat and leaned back with her arms folded and a smirk on her face.

"I'm sitting here today," Santana reached over and patted Rachel's desk. "Next to Rachel."

"Puck!" They all looked at Brittany, who was sitting in her seat waving widely at Puck. Puck sighed and waved back as he walked to her. Rachel sat down in her seat and Santana leaned towards her.

"Hey, Rachel, let's go to Breadstix with Britt and Q."

"You haven't gone already?" Rachel asked and Santana shook her head.

"Nope, cuz you would've gone with."

"Oh." Rachel thought Santana would have gone with either Quinn or Brittany instead of her, and she mentally scolded herself for thinking that. Despite how close the two had gotten, a part of her still thought that Quinn and Brittany would come first before her.

"So today I'm picking you up after practice." Santana leaned back in her seat and Rachel nodded. Mr. Schuester walked in and stared at Santana and Puck, a little confused before starting class. As Mr. Schuester was talking, Santana leaned her head against her hand and looked at Rachel.

She was rather excited for Breadstix, but mostly because it was a chance for Rachel and Quinn to get to know each other, since the two hardly talked at all during school. Santana looked at Brittany and smiled, glad that she liked Rachel so much. Santana looked back at Rachel and noticed she was staring at her paper. Looking more closely, Santana saw Rachel drawing something and raised an eyebrow, curious of what she was drawing.

Santana kept staring at Rachel, watching her draw, and then started focusing on the movement of her hand. She looked at Rachel's hand, and noticed how soft they looked. Suddenly, she had an impulse to reach out and touch them, to see how soft they really were. As Santana looked at them, she thought of one of her old nicknames for Rachel, Manhands, and she mentally kicked herself because they weren't manly at all. If anything, they were one of the most feminine and soft-looking hands she had seen.

"Um, Santana?" Santana jumped a little in her seat and looked up at Rachel.

"H-huh?" Rachel smiled and nodded towards the person in front of Santana, who was holding out a paper waiting for Santana to take. Giving Rachel an embarrassed smile, she quickly grabbed the papers and almost forgot to grab one, before handing the rest back to the person behind her.

"Alright class, you can work in partners." Mr. Schuester said and the class quickly started filling up with everyone talking with their class partner.

"Would you like to work together, Santana?" Santana scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to ask, you know I would anyway."

"Right, sorry." Rachel said with a small smile and looked down at her paper again. Santana followed her gaze and saw Rachel crossing off what she had been drawing. Santana frowned, wondering what it was, but didn't say anything and looked away before she could stare again.

* * *

><p>Breadstix couldn't come soon enough and Rachel was waiting for Santana to pick her up. She was in her room, staring at the ceiling, thinking of everything that had happened at school when there was a knock on the door.<p>

"Come in," Rachel said and heard the door open. She didn't need to look up, after all, thre was only one other person living in the house with her. Rachel felt the bed dip and Shelby ran her fingers through Rachel's hair. Rachel frowned and looked up at Shelby. "What's wrong?"

"What, there needs to be something wrong to spend quality time with my daughter?" Shelby chuckled and Rachel sat up.

"No, guess not." Rachel smiled at Shelby and looked down uncomfortably. "So, how's work?"

"Good," Shelby said. "How's school?"

"Good." Rachel replied and the two sat in uncomfortable silence, unsure of what to say next. Rachel, still conscious of Shelby's fingers running through her hair, shifted a little bit away. Shelby moved her hand to her lap, a little hurt, but didn't say anything.

"I'm glad you have friends here." Shelby said honestly and Rachel nodded.

"Me too." More importantly, she was glad she had Santana. Rachel couldn't help but smile at the thought for a little bit and Shelby noticed.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind." Rachel looked at Shelby and then back down. She bit her lip, wondering what to tell Shelby. Luckily, she didn't have to think any longer, because her phone went off and she looked at it.

"It's Santana, I should get it." Shelby nodded and Rachel answered the phone.

"Yo, we're here." Santana said.

"Kay, I'm heading out right now," Rachel hung up and turned back to Shelby, who was still sitting on her bed. "They're here, so…."

"Have." Rachel nodded and waved to Shelby as she made her way out the room. Shelby sighed and stayed in Rachel's room long after Rachel had walked out the front door before getting up and going to her own bedroom. She walked to the dresser and pulled out an old box from one of the drawers, taking it to the bed and laying down with it.

She opened it and started taking out its contents, old papers and photographs. One of the first papers she pulled out was of the map she used to get to the orphanage for the first time to pick Rachel up. She laughed lightly remembering all the times she got lost and pulled out the old receipt with the cost of gas she had to refill into her car.

She pulled out the rest of the papers until all of them were spread out around her and all that was left was photographs of her and Rachel though the years. She smiled at each one and she finally reached the last one. It was of her and Rachel on the first day Rachel stepped into Shelby's home. Rachel hadn't even changed for the picture, she was still in the worn out clothes from the orphanage.

Shelby ran her finger over Rachel in the picture and studied her face. Shelby had to admit, even at eight years old, the girl looked so sad. Shelby knew it then and knew it now, and part of her wondered if he was the reason for Rachel's sadness. Shelby closed her eyes and wondered what her life would have been like without Rachel and all of the times she had with her as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Rachel slid into the seats of the table they had gotten, with Santana sliding next to her. In front of her was Quinn, and Brittany was next to her. Rachel looked up and smiled at Quinn, who gave her a tight smile back. Sighing, Rachel opened her menu and was looking through it when she heard Santana next to her.<p>

"Psst, Rachel, hey, Rachel," Rachel looked over to see Santana hunched over the table and themenu standing upward in front of her, hiding her from Quinn and Brittany.

"Santana, what are you-" Santana smirked and her finger to her lips, effectively making Rachel stop talking. Santana started gesturing Rachel towards her and Rachel looked uncertainly at Quinn and Brittany. Quinn looked at Santana as if she had just grown two heads while Brittany just looked curious.

Rachel looked back at Santana, who was still motioning her forward. Slowly, Rachel scooted toward Santana until the other girl stopped moving her hand. Rachel quickly realized she was also covered by the menu, and their faces were centimeters apart. Rachel swallowed harshly and tried to look anywhere but at Santana, who was staring right at her with that smug look Rachel had grown to love, all the while feeling herself blush.

"Listen, Rachel," Santana said, louder than a whisper, and definitely loud enough for Quinn and Brittany to hear. "Don't mind Q, she's just got a major stick up her ass, like usual. It's, like, jammed in there, but anyway," Rachel rolled her eyes at Santana's words and Santana just kept grinning. "Don't let it get to you, she's actually a softy, just ask Britt. Oh, and-"

"I can hear you, dumbass." Santana brought the menu down and looked at Quinn smugly, before wincing in pain.

"You fucking kicked me." Quinn rolled her eyes.

"You deserved it." Brittany looked at Quinn, then down at her bottom.

"Quinn, you have a stick in you? Isn't that painful?" Quinn looked at Brittany and followed her gaze. She shifted uncomfortably under Brittany's intense glare and smiled at her.

"No, I don't, it's just a figure of speech." Brittany looked up at Quinn and frowned.

"I don't understand them, they just confuse me more." Quinn smiled at Brittany and laughed a little at the blonde's innocence. While the two talked Rachel and Santana were still close and Santana was rubbing her leg while quietly cursing at Quinn.

"Really Santana, you have to stop putting yourself in compromising positions where you get kicked." Santana scoffed.

"Not my fault everyone's abusive to me," Santana wrapped her arm around Rachel and brought her closer. "See, Q, you should be like Rachel and Brittany, they're nice, unlike someone I know." Quinn rolled her eyes and waved her off. Santana laughed and looked back at the menu in front of her, forgetting that she still had her arm wrapped around Rachel. She didn't notice until Rachel shifted under her arm, and she looked at her.

Rachel was trying to read Santana's menu, since getting to hers was too much work. If she was honest, being under Santana's arm felt nice. It felt like before, when they were little, but there was something more to the feeling. Rachel wanted to just lean back into Santana's arm and be close to the girl. Rachel looked up at Santana, and froze when she saw the other girl staring back at her. The two stared at each other, and Rachel searched Santana's face, wondering what Santana was feeling. As her eyes searched her face, they fell on Santana's lips and she unconsciously licked her own. Santana looked down at Rachel's lips and tightened her arm around Rachel, bringing the shorter girl closer to her.

Suddenly, the sound of someone clearing their throat brought them back to reality and they both looked across of them to see Quinn and Brittany staring at them. Rachel pushed herself away and leaned against the divider as she looked at her own menu. Santana brought her hands to her lap and looked down. Quinn raised an eyebrow at them and looked at the menu, while Brittany smiled and tried to contain her giggling.

The four of them sat in silence until they ordered their food, where Brittany looked at Santana, Quinn, and Rachel. Santana and Rachel sat as far from each other as they could get and Quinn stared at the two, unsure of what to do.

"Hey, S, come with me to the bathroom." Brittany said and Santana gave her a questioning look but nodded and they both got up and left. Rachel slid down a little in her seat and Quinn spoke up before things could get awkward.

"So…" Quinn started and Rachel looked up and smiled politely at Quinn. "How's life?" Quinn mentally scolded herself. How's life? And she thought Santana was bad at conversation…

"It's good?" Rachel said back in more of a question than a statement and Quinn nodded. The two fell back in uncomfortable silence and Quinn started drumming her fingers on the table in an attempt to make things less silent and uncomfortable. "Well," Rachel said loudly, which Quinn hadn't been expecting, making her jump and hit her knee under the table. "Oh, I'm sorry." Rachel said guiltily and she stopped talking. Quinn laughed lightly, trying to brighten the mood and cheer Rachel up.

"It's fine, you were saying?" Rachel looked unsure but Quinn gave her an encouraging smile.

"As I was saying, things have been good since moving here. People here are nice, mostly." She added the last part as a second thought, thinking of Karofsky and Azimio, who had given her most of her slushy facials when she was just the new kid.

"Weren't people nice in your last place," Quinn said as she tried to remember where Rachel moved from.

"New York."

"Yeah, there," Quinn said with a nod. "There's a ton of people, right? Aren't there nice people there?" Rachel gave Quinn a sad smile and looked down.

"Yes, but they're not to me." Quinn watched as Rachel kept looking down, looking vulnerable as she admitted to not having many friends in New York. Quinn looked down guiltily, realizing what Rachel was saying, and remembered almost ordering a jock to slushy Rachel if Santana didn't make up her mind about Rachel being her friend or not.

"I'm sorry," Rachel looked up and Quinn continued. "About New York, must have been hard." Rachel shrugged.

"I have friends now and it was the past, it doesn't matter now."

"The past does matter," Rachel smiled at the words. Even if Quinn didn't know it, the words gave her a little bit of confidence with getting Santana to remember their past together. Quinn watched the girl in front of her smile and knew if it wasn't for Santana, she would be making Rachel's life just as miserable as it was in New York. "Besides, they're loss because you seem all right to me." Rachel smiled brightly at Quinn, who smiled back. Maybe Santana was right, Rachel wasn't so bad.

* * *

><p>Santana sighed as Brittany pulled her into the small bathroom meant for one person and locked the door. Santana leaned against the wall and crossed her arms as Brittany turned around and studied her.<p>

"What?" Santana snapped but Brittany was unfazed and smiled at Santana.

"I saw you looking Rachy." Santana unconsciously shifted on her feet and shrugged.

"So?"

"So," Brittany said, walking to Santana and forcing her arms down to her side. "I saw that look. Like you're realizing something for the first time."

"Britt, I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're starting to like Rachel," Santana raised her eyebrows at Brittany using Rachel's full name for the first time. "Like, a lot."

"Well, she's my friend, so yeah." Brittany giggled, knowing Santana was starting to like Rachel more than a friend.

"Silly, I meant more than that, and you two get all awkward and weird when you get close. Plus, you stare." Santana gaped at her. She did not stare at Rachel. Santana closed her mouth and remembered the times she stared at Rachel that day and groaned in frustration. She did stare, but it wasn't like she meant to, she just always got distracted by how beautiful Rachel looked. Santana's eyes widened as she thought about it and shook her head. Rachel was just a friend, that's it.

"We're just friends." Santana said, but Brittany knew Santana was just trying to convince herself more than Brittany. Brittany had always been able to know what was going through Santana's head easily, and this was no exception. Santana walked to the door and unlocked it before going back to their table, with Brittany following right behind her. Santana saw Rachel and Quinn smiling and talking, and Santana smiled. She slid next to Rachel, much closer that time, and Rachel didn't move away like before.

"Hey," Santana said. "Looks like you two are getting to know each other pretty well." Rachel and Quinn smiled at each other and nodded.

"Quinn is actually really nice and caring." Rachel said and Santana smiled at her.

"I'm glad." Santana genuinely said.

"Yeah, Q's really great." Brittany said, hugging Quinn and rubbing her head against her like a cat, making Quinn blush.

"Brittany, that tickles…" Quinn said, trying not to laugh too hard.

"Anyway," Santana said loudly. "I wants to eat, now." Santana complained and they all laughed. About ten minutes later after the server had given them their food they were eating and talking. Rachel couldn't help but smile at the scene around her, and couldn't believe she was sitting in Breadstix, eating and talking with people willing to talk to her too, as a friend. She felt someone nudge her shoulder and she looked at Santana.

"You okay?"

"Perfect." Rachel said and Santana nodded before turning back to the conversation. Well, nearly perfect. Rachel looked at Santana, knowing what would make everything perfect. She quickly looked away and tried not to think about it.

* * *

><p>They had dropped Rachel off at her house and after saying her goodbyes to them she walked in. The first thing she noticed was that the house was pitch dark. Rachel looked out the window to make sure Shelby was home, which, she figured she was when she saw Shelby's car parked outside.<p>

Shrugging, she didn't think much of it and started walking through the house. She stopped when she noticed light coming from the bottom of Shelby's closed door. Rachel walked to it and pushed it open a little to peek inside and groaned at the sight.

"I thought you stopped that." Rachel said sadly as she looked at all the pictures and papers around Shelby. She slowly started to put them back in the box until there was only one left, still in Shelby's hand. Rachel didn't need to look to know which one it was, it was always the same one Shelby fell asleep with. Rachel grabbed the picture in her mother's hand and slowly started to pull it out, only pausing whenever Shelby stirred in her sleep. After a while, she finally gotten the picture out and looked at it.

Even though she knew what it was, she still felt like she needed to check if it was what she thought it was every time. Sure enough, it was a picture of her and Shelby in their new home, the first picture taken of them together. She put it and the box in its proper place and walked back to the bed. She kicked off her shoes and climbed in Shelby's bed. Getting under the covers, she looked at Shelby worriedly before closing her eyes and trying to fall asleep.


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews, and as for the scene with Shelby, well hopefully this chapter clears things up.

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><p>Shelby woke up and blinked as she looked around her room, until her eyes fell on Rachel sleeping. Sighing, Shelby ran her hand through Rachel's hair, knowing what had happened. Rachel only slept with Shelby when Shelby looked at the pictures.<p>

She got up and quickly got changed and looked at the time. She mentally scolded herself when she realized Rachel was going to be late. Whenever Rachel slept with her, the internal clock she had failed and she could sleep till noon if Shelby let her. Shelby walked to Rachel and shook her lightly.

"Honey, wake up." Rachel groaned and blinked up at Shelby. She looked over at the clock on Shelby's nightstand and her eyes widened. She shot up in bed and ran out the room.

"I'm going to be late." Rachel panicked as she ran out of Shelby's room. Shelby walked to the kitchen, hearing Rachel run around the house frantically and waved at Shelby as she finally ran out of the house before Shelby could offer her a ride to school. Shelby sighed as she leaned against the counter once Rachel left. It had been a long time since she fell asleep looking at old photos but she still felt just as guilty about it as all the times before.

* * *

><p>Rachel had barely made it to class in time, and let out a breath of relief as she slid into her seat, earning a grin from Puck. The rest of the day went by well, despite the uncomfortable feeling she got every time she was by Finn. He still refused to believe Santana was her friend, and was willing to point that out every chance he had. That and he would give Santana a death glare every time he saw the two together. Rachel didn't want to be bothered with him, so she grabbed Puck and the two ate lunch in the choir room, where Finn never stopped by. Rachel enjoyed the silence instead of the loud lunchroom and was talking with Puck when Santana walked by the room and stopped when she saw them. She walked in and sat down next to Rachel on the floor.<p>

"Hey," Santana said and Rachel smiled at her. "What are you guys doing here?" Rachel became silent and Puck shrugged.

"It's away from Finnept." Santana clenched her fist as she thought of the tall boy and looked at Rachel.

"He didn't bother you, did he?" Rachel smiled and shook her head.

"No, nothing different from usual," Rachel looked over and saw Santana looking frustrated and she looked down to her hand. Rachel sighed and put her hand over Santana's, which was still clenched into a fist. "Everything's fine." Santana relaxed and smiled at Rachel. Rachel smiled back and squeezed Rachel's hand. Puck looked between the two and took a drink from his water bottle as he smiled at them.

"Hey, Rachel, wanna come over my house today?" Puck asked and Rachel turned back to Puck.

"Sure, Noah," Rachel suddenly had an idea and turned to Santana, smiling innocently at her. "Do you want to come too?" Santana looked at Rachel, at her smile, and found herself nodding. "Great!" Rachel at Puck and he gave her a knowing grin. Rachel turned back to her food, shivering from the cold room as she did so.

"Cold?" Santana asked, noticing the way Rachel began rubbing her arms up and down.

"It's fine, I just picked the first thing I could find, which isn't very warm," Rachel motioned towards her purple vest with the thin white button up underneath. "Because I woke up late." Rachel finished, deciding not to explain why.

"Here," Santana took off her Cheerios jacket she had been wearing since the weather started getting colder.

"No, it's fine." Rachel said, putting up her hands. Santana ignored her and wrapped the jacket around Rachel's shoulders.

"It's cold in here." Santana said and fixed the collar. Santana smiled as Rachel put her arms through the sleeve and held them out in front of her. The sleeves were rolled down, making them fall past her hands, and Santana tried to hold in her laugh. Rachel looked at her and pouted.

"It's not funny." Santana couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing out loud. She could help it, Rachel was so small and the jacket looked way too big for her, and Santana had to admit it made her look pretty adorable.

"Sorry," Santana said and handed Rachel her books. Rachel took a few moments to fix her sleeves before grabbing her books as she thanked Santana. The three walked out of the coir room and down the hall while the other students stared at Rachel in Santana's Cheerio jacket. Santana noticed them staring and she leaned towards Rachel. "Ignore them." Rachel looked up at Santana and nodded. When the three went to their separate classes, Rachel sat down in her desk and smelled the jacket and couldn't help but smile. It smelled like Santana.

* * *

><p>Santana made Rachel keep the Cheerio jacket, and Rachel promised to give it back the next day. Both Puck and Santana had practice, so Rachel stayed at her house until they got out. She wondered if Shelby would be home, but found that she wasn't. Sighing, she sat down on the couch and texted Shelby that she was going to be out for the day.<p>

She got up again and walked to Shelby's bedroom and picked up the box Shelby had opened the previous night. She took it to her own bedroom and sat with it on the bed. Opening it, she took out everything until she found the first picture of her and Shelby.

She remembered walking in to her new home for the first time, still missing Santana and a little jumpy. The first day was the most awkward day in both of their lives; Rachel wasn't sure what to do and was curled up on the couch. Shelby sat in front of her, just as nervous. Finally, she decided to take a picture of them, which Rachel agreed to. Apparently, that small action took away some of the awkwardness and Rachel let Shelby close. The rest of the day was spent with the two of them watching TV and getting to know each other more and ended with Shelby bathing Rachel and letting her sleep with her.

Rachel couldn't help but smile at the memory as she looked at the picture and was snapped out of her reverie when she felt her phone vibrate. She took it out and opened it to see a text from Shelby.

_Okay, I want to talk to you later. I mean, if you want._

Rachel sighed and put everything back in the box and put it back to its proper place, in Shelby's room. She closed the Cheerios jacket and walked outside, not even bothering driving to Puck's house. All she needed at the moment was a good walk, and Puck's house was close enough that she wouldn't freeze to death for too long. She knew Puck was still in football practice, but she knew his younger sister was home, and she could always use a distraction.

* * *

><p>Puck ended up driving home after practice with Santana driving behind him. As he drove, he looked back at Santana's car from his rearview mirror from time to time. He hoped Santana spending time with Rachel would help both of them and make Santana remember more. Rachel had told him some of the stories of her time at the orphanage, all of which included Santana, and she always seemed so happy telling him of her time with Santana. But in the end she always got sad, because they both knew Santana didn't remember Rachel and Puck wished he could do something to help her remember. After all, she was his friend and it killed him to see her so sad sometimes.<p>

He parked his car, with Santana doing the same, and they met outside. Together they walked to his house, talking about the next football game coming up and walked in. He had texted Rachel when practice was over and thought she was driving to his house. What he didn't expect was to find Rachel already there, laying on the couch holding one of Melanie's stuffed animals with the younger girl sitting on Rachel's stomach, talking excitedly.

Puck, although surprised, grinned happily that Melanie had taken such a liking to Rachel. He looked at Santana, who was staring at Rachel, looking positively entranced by the sight. Melanie looked up and saw Puck and smiled brightly. She got up on her feet, right on Rachel and digging them into Rachel's stomach. She jumped up, pushing them into Rachel, making the brunette wince in pain. Once Melanie was off, Rachel grabbed her stomach and rolled off the couch, landing on the floor.

"Hi, Noah!" Melanie ran up to him and hugged his legs as he reached down and ruffled her hair.

"Hey, Mel, what are you doing?" Melanie smiled at Puck and pointed at Rachel, who had just stood up but was still clutching her stomach.

"Rachel came over and played with me." Puck smiled and Melanie as Santana walked to Rachel.

"You okay?" Rachel nodded and sat down. She patted the spot on the couch next to her and Santana sat down as well. "We didn't see your car."

"I walked." Rachel shrugged and Santana frowned.

"It's cold though." Rachel shrugged again and wrapped her arms around herself.

"You jacket is really warm, no wonder you Cheerios wear it so much in the winter." Santana smiled at Rachel and nodded.

"It looks good on you." Rachel smiled and looked down as she blushed lightly. Just then, Puck jumped over the back of the couch and wrapped his arm his arm around Santana and pulled her closer to him.

"Hey Lopez, realizing Rachel's one hot Jew in Cheerio clothes?" Santana looked at Rachel and quickly looked away, blushing lightly, but Rachel still saw it. Santana forced a scowl and shoved Puck's arm off her.

"Whatever." Santana said and Puck laughed.

"Sure," He said as he got up and grabbed the controller. He turned back to the couch and nudged Santana towards Rachel, purposely shoving her hard than necessary. Santana glared at Puck as she bumped into Rachel and Puck grinned at her before turning to Rachel. "Here you go, bro." He held it out slightly in front of him, making Rachel reach over Santana. Just as Rachel was about to grab it, Puck moved it away.

"Noah!" Rachel aid and shifted so she had her knees on the couch. She put her hand on Santana's leg and lunged forward. She successfully grabbed the controller and collapsed on both of them. Puck laughed ruffled Rachel's hair teasingly like he had done to Melanie's.

"See, you got it." Rachel huffed as she slapped Puck's hand away.

"That was not funny," She said they looked at each other before breaking out in a fit of giggles. Rachel shifted to get comfortable and she heard Santana take a hitched breath. Remembering she was also on top of Santana, she looked back at Santana. "Do you want me to move?"

Santana looked at Rachel and gave her a shaky smile as she shook her head. Rachel looked at her uncertainly but nodded anyway. She shifted onto her back so she was more comfortable, and Santana closed her eyes and tried not to make any noise. When she stopped moving Santana opened her eyes again and looked at Rachel, who was too busy looking at the screen.

Santana put her hands in her lap, where they pressed against Rachel's leg. Santana looked down at Rachel, seeing the smaller girl relaxed as she played with Puck, and smiled. Every time she saw Rachel happy or relaxed, Santana couldn't help but smile. She didn't know why Rachel's happiness meant so much to her, but it did and it affected her by making her happy.

Lately, every time they were even slightly close, Santana couldn't help but stare at Rachel. The lightest touch seemed to be magnified by ten, making Santana's heart speed up. It didn't help that Rachel would smile so innocently and brightly at her, making Santana blush and look away to hide it. Santana was snapped out of her thoughts when Rachel shifted again.

"Gotta take a piss." Puck said and Rachel started sitting up. Before she could get off, he pushed Rachel towards Santana, making her sit on the other girl's lap.

"Noah!" Puck laughed as Rachel squeaked on Santana's lap and Santana instinctively wrapped an arm around Rachel. Rachel pouted at Puck and he winked at her as he walked out of the room.

Despite the fact that Puck left and Rachel could have easily slid out of Santana's lap, the two girls stayed in the same position. Rachel looked at her lap and Santana was finding a picture on the wall much more interesting. Rachel shifted in Santana's lap again, right on Santana's center and making her groan.

"H-hey, Rachel," Rachel jumped and looked at Santana. "Want to sit on the couch now?" Rachel nodded and moved off Santana and winced when she sat on something. Reaching under her, she pulled out a controller and laughed nervously.

"Do you, um, would you like to play in place of Noah? You don't have to, but, if you would like, you can. So, if you would like…" Rachel awkwardly held out the controller and Santana smiled, taking it from her hand.

"Sure," Rachel smiled and sat a little farther away from Santana. Santana sighed; turning back to the game, hoping it would take some of the awkwardness away and keep her thoughts away from Rachel. Soon the game started and Santana blinked as Rachel expertly played the game. "Okay, what the fuck am I doing?"

* * *

><p>Puck had been out of the bathroom for a while, but he decided to give Rachel and Santana some alone time, so he spent time playing with Melanie in her room. When enough time passed, he walked back to the living room and saw Rachel and Santana sitting close to each other, playing the game. Grinning, he walked to the couch and looked at the game.<p>

"So who's winning?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Santana said, glaring at Puck. Puck grinned and sat down next to Rachel. Santana spotted Rachel, and before Rachel could shoot her, Puck covered Rachel's eyes.

"Hey, that is cheating!"

"Shoot her," Puck said and Santana finally shot Rachel's character. Santana pumped her fist in the air and high fived Puck over Rachel's head. "Now that's teamwork." Puck said and Rachel pouted.

"Cheaters." The three ended up playing the rest of the day, with Santana and Puck taking turns against Rachel. Each of them would purposely mess Rachel up, which made her pout, much to their amusement. Eventually it was time to go, and Santana offered to drive Rachel home. After saying goodbye to Puck, they headed to Santana's car.

"So," Santana began, eyeing her Cheerios Jack on Rachel as they got into the car. "You going to the football game?" Rachel shrugged.

"I don't know." Santana frowned as she started driving to Rachel's house.

"You should, I'll be there and everything." Santana said quickly and Rachel's lips quirked upward.

"Yes, I know you will, like in every other football game McKinley has had." Santana blushed and nodded.

"Right, duh," She said and Rachel laughed lightly. I mean, it is the last game of the year."

"Oh? Well then, I guess I will and cheer you on." Santana smiled happily and nodded, glad Rachel could make it.

"Great, and we can, like, go somewhere after. Like Puck's party or something." Rachel nodded and soon they reached Rachel's house.

"I look forward to the game, Santana." Santana grinned and Rachel gave her a quick hug and got out. When Rachel reached the front door she waved at Santana, who waved back, and walked inside. Even after she had gone inside, Santana still had her hand in the air and a silly grin on her face as she thought about Rachel going to the game. Realizing her hand was in the air, she slammed it down on the steering wheel and drove off.

* * *

><p>Rachel walked inside and saw Shelby sitting in the living room, sitting on the couch reading a book and the box on the coffee table. Rachel sighed and walked into the room and Shelby hadn't noticed her until Rachel sat down next to her, making the couch dip down a little. Rachel looked at the box on the table and felt Shelby's eyes on her, but Shelby didn't say anything. They sat like that in silence for a few minutes before Shelby finally broke the silence.<p>

"Rachel…" Shelby sighed.

"Why did you look at that again? I thought you stopped." The last time Rachel caught her with the box was when she was fourteen, just had gone to high school. Rachel had thought starting high school would be a chance for the bullying to stop, to start new and have a friend again. However, that didn't happen and the bullying just got worse. She came home that day with a bruise, since her high school didn't have slushies, and she barricaded herself in her room the rest of the day. When she finally came out, she saw Shelby passed out on the couch with everything in the box all around her, and she felt guilty. She hadn't seen Shelby pull out the box after that, and Rachel was sure she stopped.

"I did," Shelby said, looking at Rachel. "But you've seemed sad again a lot, especially when I thought you were finally happy here, and I couldn't help it," Shelby shook her head. "And everything came rushing back to my head that I…" Shelby didn't finish the sentence, and she didn't have to, Rachel already knew what she was going to say.

"Look," Rachel said, scooting closer to Shelby. "It's not you, I swear. You've been amazing, it's just there's something else happening to my life right now and it's…frustrating." Shelby sighed and grabbed Rachel's hand, turning herself towards her daughter.

"You don't tell me anything, Rachel. Let me help you, I'm your mother, it's my job to help you through anything." Rachel bit her lip and nodded. She hadn't let Shelby in at all, and she was afraid too. She knew Shelby had no idea about Santana, the only other person she loved. Rachel blinked as she thought about it. Love? Santana was a great friend, back then and now, but did she ever love her like…that, as in romantically? Rachel remembered all the times she was near Santana, or touching her, and remembered being on top of Santana in Puck's house and blushed. "Rachel?" Rachel was snapped out of her thoughts and she looked at Shelby.

"Okay, yeah, um," Rachel sighed and smiled at Shelby. "I'll try and talk to you more about everything." She suddenly remembered the football game and she shifted in her seat. "Um, may I go to the football game tomorrow, and the party after?" Shelby gave her an odd look and Rachel sighed. "It is the last game, and you know I don't drink so I'll be fine at the party." Shelby sighed and looked at Rachel. It was only one party, and she knew Rachel hadn't ever been to one. Well, she never asked to go to one, but Shelby knew Rachel wasn't the type to sneak out.

"Be safe." Rachel smiled and hugged Shelby thankfully. She got up and went to her bedroom, and collapsed on the bed. She knew the football game was going to be rather eventful, and she needed as much sleep as she could get.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter, and the next one hopefully will be uploaded soon. This chapter was originally longer, but I cut it in half, so that's why I plan on not taking so long for the next upload.

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><p>Santana yawned as she walked down the hall with Quinn and Brittany. Despite how tired she was, she was excited for the day. It was the last football game of the year, which Rachel was going to, and Puck's party, which, again, Rachel was going to. Santana grinned as she realized she was going to be able to spend lot more time with Rachel than usual, if she was lucky.<p>

However, the grin fell off her face when Becky stepped in front of the three Cheerios. They stopped abruptly and stared down at her. Santana had to fight an eye roll, whenever Becky approached the three of them they knew it was because of Sue.

"Santana, Coach wants to see you." Becky said and turned around and began walking back to Sue's office. Santana sighed, she had just gotten to school and Sue was already ordering her around.

"I'll catch you guys later." Quinn and Brittany nodded as they watched Santana go down the hall. Santana walked into Sue's office where Sue was in the middle of telling Becky something.

"Lopez, something's wrong, actually, something's been wrong but I thought sense would be knocked into that head of yours and you'd fix it."

"um, fix what?" Santana asked.

"Streisand is wearing _my_ Cheerios jacket," Santana looked down at her sleeveless Cheerio top. She had completely forgotten Rachel still had her jacket, especially since she was thinking about the game and party all day.

"Oh, I'll fix it Coach, don't worry." Santana just really wanted to get out of there and didn't want any trouble for Rachel.

"I know you will, because she can't wear it, even if it is an improvement from what she usually wears over that hairy chest," Sue snickered and Santana clenched her fist angrily. She couldn't stand it when someone spoke badly of Rachel, and wouldn't be afraid to give them a black eye. Except it was Sue talking and she wasn't that dumb to hit Sue Sylvester. "Scram and get that jacket back, oh and make sure to disinfect it before you wear it." She waved her off with her hand and Santana angrily turned around and walked out of Sue's office. Walking down the hall, she saw Rachel at her locker, wearing the Cheerios jacket. Sighing, Santana walked to her and Rachel smiled up at her.

"Hello, Santana," Rachel noticed the look on her face and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Santana hadn't even noticed she was scowling and quickly gave Rachel a small smile instead. "No, it's fine, just Coach giving me some trouble." Rachel nodded and looked down, noticing that she was still wearing the Cheerios jacket. Her eyes widened in realization and she quickly took it off and held it out to Santana.

"It's because of me, isn't it?" Rachel asked and Santana quickly shook her head. "I'm sorry; I should have given it back sooner. It's my fault." Santana frowned and reached forward, past the jacket, and grabbed both of Rachel's hands.

"Don't worry about it; I doubt anything that could happen to me would be your fault." Santana had stepped closer, making Rachel drop the jacket, but neither of them noticed. Santana rubbed circles on the back of Rachel's hand unconsciously, and as she held them, she couldn't help but think that they felt perfect in her hands. Perfect and familiar. They silently stared at each other until a yell snapped their gaze away from each other and to its source.

In the hall, in front of them, was Karofsky. He was covered in slushy and the cup was on the ground. He wiped his face and glared at Puck, who was in front of him looking angry.

"What the hell man?" Karofsky yelled.

"I know what you were going to do, and I swear, if I catch you or any of the other guys trying that shit again…" Puck stepped forward threateningly and Karofsky did the same. They glared at each other and the hallway was quiet, waiting for who would punch first. Rachel watched and gripped Santana's hand; Santana gave a reassuring squeeze and continued rubbing the back of her hand with her thumb. Finally, Karofsky walked away, pushing Jacob Ben Israel into the locker as he did so, and Puck grinned. He walked to Rachel and Santana and everyone went back to what they were doing before. Puck looked at their joined hands with an amused look on his face and Santana quickly pulled her hands back.

"Noah, are you okay?" Puck shrugged and nodded. "What happened?"

"Karofsky was gonna slushy you two," Puck scowled as he thought about it. "I kinda tipped the cup back and he got pissed when it got all over him."

"Thought he was going to punch you for a second." Santana said and Puck grinned again.

"Nah, we got our game today, so he wouldn't risk it," Puck grabbed both Rachel and Santana's shoulders and looked at Santana. "So? You guys better cheer good." Santana rolled her eyes and shoved Puck's hand away.

"You guys better not suck, cuz I got nothing to worry about," Santana looked at Rachel and smirked. "I'm the fucking highlight of the game." She bent down and picked up her Cheerios jacket from the floor, and Puck didn't miss the way Rachel watched Santana bend down.

Santana stood back up and gave both of them a wave. As she walked away, Rachel watched the way her hips swayed and she unconsciously licked her lips. Puck stood next to Rachel as the shorter girl kept staring and grinned.

"You're staring." Rachel jumped and slammed her shoulder into the door of her locker, which was still open. She rubbed her shoulder and slammed it closed in frustration.

"I was not staring, merely looking." Rachel stated as she crossed her arms.

"Sure, but I know you're falling for Santana and you want to get under that skirt and-"

"Noah!" Rachel chastised and Puck raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I might like her a little bit more than I ever did before but," Rachel sighed and against her locker. "I doubt she returns the feeling."

"So you admit it? You love her." Rachel bit her lip and nodded.

"Yes, I've fallen in love with my childhood friend who has yet to realize it's me from our past standing in front of her now," Rachel groaned. "Story of my life." Puck leaned against the locker next to hers and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Bro, from one hot Jew to another, you got nothing to worry about. I've seen the way she looks at you, and I'm pretty sure she's falling for you just as hard." Rachel looked up at Puck and smiled at him.

"Really?" Puck nodded.

"Really."

* * *

><p>Rachel was sitting on her bed, wondering what to do until the game started, when the bell rang. She frowned as she got up, she had just gotten home and wondered who was at the door. Opening it, she saw Puck at the door.<p>

"Don't you have to be at school?" Rachel asked and Puck nodded.

"Yeah, I kinda snuck out, but I need to help a fellow bro." He walked past her and she closed the door.

"How?" Rachel asked as she followed Puck to her room. He immediately walked to her closet and she stood next to him.

"You're gonna look hot today, so no more of that," He pointed at Rachel, who was still wearing the Argyle sweaters and knee socks. Rachel looked down at her clothes, shrugging, as she let Puck pick her clothes. Finally, he pulled out pants, a button up shirt, and the sneakers Rachel usually didn't wear anymore. "Let's try these." Rachel nodded and turned to change, but stopped when she noticed Puck still in the room.

"Noah, I would really appreciate it if you let me change in private." Puck pouted a little bit but nodded and walked out of the room. Rachel laughed and shook her head, amused by his failed attempt to see her get undressed. When she was done, she stood in front of the mirror in her room and called Puck back in.

"Lookin good." Rachel fixed the rolled up sleeves of her button up and looked down at her jeans.

"It's not anything special though…" Puck turned Rachel around and started unbuttoning the top of her shirt until the beginning of her breast was seen. Rachel turned back to the mirror, the movement making the top of her shirt move down enough to show a little bit of her bra.

"Nice bra." Rachel turned back around and slapped Puck's arm.

"You can barely see it." Rachel grumbled.

"Sorry," Puck laughed and motioned towards her. "Santana's definitely gonna look there and she'll definitely stare. Well, I gotta go." He gave her a wave and quickly walked out of the house and to his car, speeding off to the school. Rachel looked at the mirror, hoping Puck's plan worked.

Rachel finally headed out to the game, luckily it wasn't as cold of a night as the others, so she didn't bother wearing a jacket. It was pretty early so she decided to walk, and when she arrived at the school and headed towards the football stands, there weren't many people. Only a few groups here and there chatting amongst themselves.

Rachel walked to the bottom bleachers and stood, looking at the Cheerios who were doing last minute practices. She watched as they formed the pyramid, and spotted Santana and Brittany, who were holding Quinn up. Santana spotted Rachel and noticed her shirt, or rather, the part of her chest that wasn't covered up. As she stared, she loosened her grip on Quinn and shifted a little, nearly making Quinn fall.

"The fuck, S?" Quinn snapped, looking down at Santana as best as she could. "Trying to kill me?"

"Sorry." Santana mumbled, too distracted by Rachel. Quinn looked up and followed Santana's gaze, grinning as she spotted Rachel.

"That is pathetic!" They heard Sue yell and all the girls immediately straightened up. Santana looked away from Rachel and focused on the cheer as they finished it off. Once they were done, Sue gave them a break and Santana ran to Rachel.

"Hey," Santana said, stopping in front of Rachel. "Glad you could make it." Santana looked at Rachel up and down, and stopped again where the buttons stopped and showed her lightly tan chest, and unconsciously licked her lips.

"I didn't want to miss your last game." Santana looked back up to Rachel and blushed. She laughed lightly and ran her hand through her ponytail.

"It's not my game; it's the football team's game."

"Well, I've always liked watching the cheerleaders more than the football players." Rachel smiled at Santana, who simply nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Sue called her back and Santana gave Rachel a wave as she ran back to the squad. Rachel sat back down on the bleachers, silently watching Santana as more students got to the bleachers. She was forced to look away when she saw someone step in front of her, blocking her view from Santana. She looked up annoyed, and saw Kurt looking at her with a shocked expression on his face. Rachel's annoyance went away and she stood up and smiled up at Kurt.

"Hello, Kurt, I didn't think you were going to be here." Kurt waved her off and looked up and down her body.

"I didn't think you ever dressed normal," Kurt put his hand to his chest and smiled at her. "I'm so proud you stopped dressing in Argyle." Kurt hugged her and Rachel blinked in surprise, but hugged him back anyway. The two sat next to each other and watched the game. Well, Kurt watched the game and cheered for Finn, but Rachel mostly watched Santana. Especially during the cheers. She paid attention to the game enough to know that McKinley was winning, and she gave Puck a thumbs up when he looked at her direction. Once the game ended, Puck ran up to Rachel and grinned, his chest still heaving up and down.

"How was the game?"

"It was great, congratulations on winning," She started to make the motion of hugging him, but he held out his hand and stopped her.

"I don't think you want my sweat on you." He said when she frowned. She laughed and nodded. Puck looked at Santana, who was talking with Brittany and Quinn.

"So, was it me that was great or," He raised his wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Santana?"

"Both." Rachel said, smiling at him before following his gaze and looking at Santana.

"Well, gotta go and get to my own party, see ya there." Puck ran to the locker rooms and Rachel walked to Santana. As she made her way over, she could see the other Cheerios look at her with disgust, and Rachel picked up her pace. Santana was facing away from her, talking with Brittany, and Quinn noticed her first.

"Hey, Rachel." Quinn waved and Santana and Brittany looked over.

"Hey Rachy." Brittany pulled Rachel into a hug and Santana smiled at her.

"Sup, Rachel, did you like the game?" Rachel and Brittany pulled apart, only for Santana to put her arm around Rachel's neck.

"You guys were great." Santana grinned at the compliment and playfully pulled Rachel closer.

"Ugh, I don't know why they hang out with that thing." One of the other Cheerios said her friend, glaring at Rachel in disgust, as they stood away from the four girls. Quinn, Brittany, and Santana all heard and Santana looked at Rachel worriedly as Quinn walked towards the girl.

"Her name's Rachel and she's our friend. I swear if I hear you say something like that again…" The two girls looked at Quinn fearfully and nodded. When Quinn turned around they ran towards the locker room and Quinn smiled evilly as she watched them run away.

"Thanks." Rachel mumbled and Quinn smiled kindly at Rachel.

"Can't fucking believe it," Santana muttered. "The slushies stopped but they still talk shit."

"We can't stop everyone from saying what they want." Quinn said and Santana sighed. She knew Quinn was right, but it still bothered her.

"It's fine," Rachel said. She knew most of the Cheerios would never accept her, and she knew Santana, Quinn, and Brittany were doing their best to make things better for her. "Really."

"Rachel," Santana said, making Rachel look at her. "If people try to bother you, tell me, okay?" Santana looked at Rachel intently and Rachel bit her lip. She looked away, only to find Brittany and Quinn looking at her.

"Yeah, we all got your back." Brittany said and Rachel looked at Quinn, who nodded in agreement at her. Look up at Santana, she nodded, and Santana relaxed.

"Well, I'm going to wait by your car." Rachel pulled herself out of Santana's arms and started walking to the parking lot. Brittany and Quinn walked towards the locker room and Quinn stopped when she noticed Santana still staring at Rachel. Quinn cleared her throat, making Santana jump and look back at a smirking Quinn. Santana scoffed and stomped past Quinn, ignoring the blond laughing behind her. All she was concentrating on now was Rachel and the party, and she had a feeling going to the party with Rachel was going end pretty well.


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. I'm not exactly sure how many more chapters are left, but I know for sure it's getting closer to the end and it won't be long until the big reveal for Santana.

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><p>Santana, Brittany, and Quinn had gotten out of the locker rooms, and by then most of the students had left either for home or Puck's party. The three walked to the parking lot to Santana's car, since she was going to carpool all four of them to the party.<p>

Santana spotted Rachel, laying on the hood of her car and staring up at the sky. Santana walked closer, surprised that Rachel hadn't noticed her yet, and noticed she had headphones on. Grinning, she stepped up to the car and put her face directly over Rachel's.

"Boo." Rachel jumped and Santana laughed. Rachel smacked her arm playfully and followed Santana to the car, sitting next to her in the front seat with Brittany and Quinn in the back. When they arrived at Puck's party, it was already packed and Santana cursed as she tried to find parking, making Rachel giggle.

Finally, Santana found a spot, pretty far from the house. They got out and walked to the house, and Rachel felt a little uncomfortable by the number of jocks she passed. She inched closer to Santana, who rubbed her back comfortably.

Rachel had never been to a party, mostly because she was never invited to one. She wasn't sure what to expect, she figured it would be big, but not this big. The four squeezed their way in the house and Rachel, who was the last person in, somehow got separated. It probably didn't help that she was smaller than most people, or that it was easy for her to be shoved around by everyone.

Sighing, she weaved pat people until she was at the stairs, which wasn't as crowded. She walked up a few steps and leaned on the railing so she could see everyone else. She looked at everyone partying, surprised that not everyone were the jocks or popular kids. About half was the rest of McKinley, being just as accepted as the jocks, even if for just one night.

Well, nearly everyone. Rachel saw Jacob sneak in, only to be seen by some of the football team and be shoved around. They dumped punch on him before easily picking him up and throwing him out the door. Rachel winced as she watched, wondering how painful that would have been.

She stood up straight and looked around the living room and tried to find anyone she knew. When she didn't, she walked to the kitchen. It was just as crowded and she didn't see anyone there either. She frowned, snot sure where else people would be. Just as she turned to leave, she knocked into someone's chest.

"Sorry," She muttered, pulling away as she smelled the alcohol on him.

"Woah, bro, watch out." Puck grinned, cautiously holding his beer up in the air, away from both of them.

"Oh, uh, hello Noah," Puck nodded and drank some of his beer. "Nice party." Pock nodded again and brought his arm around her. She squirmed as she smelled the alcohol and his arm around her wasn't as light and friendly as usual.

"You should have fun," Puck nodded to himself and muttered, under his breath. "Fun, fun, oh!" He led them to the dining room area, where someone had set up beer pong. "Wanna try?" Rachel watched as two boys played, each taking shots.

"No…that's fine." Puck shrugged and the two watched along with a group of people. Finally the two playing had enough and Puck ran to the table. Rachel groaned and rubbed her forehead, knowing this wasn't going to end well. In front of him, Finn stepped up, and saw Rachel.

"Oh, hey, Rachel." Finn gave a wave, and Rachel reluctantly waved back. When Finn started walking towards her, Puck yelled at him.

"Hudson, you stepped up, so you better fucking play." Everyone yelled in agreement and Finn jumped. He nodded and bounced the ball. Rachel wasn't sure if she should have been glad or not that they stopped him from going to her.

After a few drinks later, it was clear Finn was at his limit. After another drink he staggered backwards and fell down. Puck brought his fist up in the air in a cheer and walked to Rachel. Finn got up, or tried to, only to fall back down. Puck laughed at him as she slung his arm around Rachel's shoulder and hung off her. Two new people walked up, and a few people had to drag Finn out of the way. Sighing, Rachel held on to Puck's arm and dragged him to the couch.

"Oh, later Rachel, it's cool that you're here." Finn called after her and tried to get up again to follow her, but failed and fell onto someone else. The couch was mostly empty, except for Quinn, who was sitting alone. Rachel made Puck sit down at the end of the couch and he slumped against the armrest.

Rachel looked around for Brittany and Santana, expecting them to be around, but was surprised when they weren't. Well, at least she had found Quinn. She looked back at the blonde, who was looking like someone had just kicked her puppy. Before Rachel could ask what was wrong, she felt herself be tackled and she fell on the couch, against Puck.

"Rachy! Rachel was trapped between Puck and Brittany, with Brittany's chest in her face. "Oh, hi, Puck." Brittany said, still clinging to Rachel.

"Britt…" Quinn whined and Brittany finally pulled back. Rachel blushed when she saw Brittany was shirtless, only in a bra and her pants unzipped. Puck whistled at her and pulled out a crumpled dollar, laughing as he reached over Rachel. Brittany smiled and leaned closer, shoving her chest in Rachel's face again. Puck put the dollar bill in her bra, along with the rest of the money Brittany had stuffed in there.

"Do you wanna se them too, Rachy?" Brittany looked down at Rachel and brought finger to the middle of her breast and trailed it down to her pants. When she grabbed them and started pulling them down, Rachel's eyes widened and she quickly grabbed Brittany's hand and pulled it away. Brittany pulled her hand out of Rachel's grip and grabbed Rachel's hand and pushed it against her breast, making Rachel go bright red.

"Aren't you uncomfortable in all that? Plus you have a hot body…" Brittany removed her hand from Rachel's, but Rachel was too flustered to move hers from Brittany's breast. Brittany started unbuttoning Rachel's shirt and Rachel felt Puck starting to pull it off.

"N-no!" Rachel yelled, and pushed Brittany away, making her fall backwards, onto Quinn's lap. Quinn smiled down at her and hugged her, giggling like a child. Brittany smiled and shifted so she was sitting with Quinn cuddled into her side.

Rachel threw Puck's hands off her and ran out of the room. She saw a sliding door to the backyard and immediately headed outside. She closed the door behind her and walked to the steps of the porch and collapsed on them. Her face was still red from Brittany and Puck trying to undress her, and she was breathing relatively hard. She groaned and brought her hand up to her face, completely missing the footsteps coming near her.

"Are you okay?" Rachel jumped and looked up to see Santana looking worriedly at her. Rachel nodded, glad that Santana seemed perfectly sober. Santana knelt down in front of Rachel and put a hand on her knee. "You sure?" Rachel nodded and started laughing lightly as she rubbed her forehead.

"Yes, it's just…" Santana smiled and rubbed her knee.

"Let me guess, Britt was half naked," Rachel looked at Santana surprised and Santana shrugged. "She does it all the time when she's drunk. She gets all that money by lap dances, or just regular dancing sometimes." Rachel shook her head disbelievingly.

"She tried undressing me as well." Santana looked at her shirt, which was completely unbuttoned and hanging off her. Santana reached forward and Rachel stiffened a little bit, but relaxed when she saw Santana fix her shirt and start buttoning it up. Santana didn't stop until she had buttoned it closed completely, unlike how Puck had it before. When she was done, she moved to sit next to Rachel and the two sat in comfortable silence.

"Aren't you gonna drink?" Santana asked and Rachel shook her head.

"I don't drink…"

"Well, at least I'll just be driving two drunk people home instead of three." Rachel sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs. She shivered a little and Santana slid closer to her and ran her hand up and down Rachel's arms.

"I'm fine." Rachel said softly.

"Sorry," Santana said as she pulled her hand away and Rachel missed the warmth of Santana hand. Santana stared at her hands for a bit before looking up at Rachel, who was looking at the ground. She rested her head in her hand and stared at Rachel. As she stared, she felt like she was missing something, something about Rachel, but didn't know what.

"Do you know the feeling of déjà vu?" Rachel looked u at Santana in surprise.

"Y-yeah…" Santana reached out and moved a strand of Rachel's hair behind her ear.

"It's so weird," Santana said softly, but to Rachel it was as loud as the music in the house, which she had blocked out completely. "I've been getting these dreams, and then when I'm with you everything feels almost perfect, but there's always something off…" Rachel felt a lump in her throat and inched closer to Santana.

"Dreams?" Santana looked away from Rachel and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Of…of back then. I was a kid at that place with…her."

"Her?" Rachel felt like she couldn't breathe. Santana knew? Santana knew all along? Santana let out a frustrated sigh and rubbed her head.

"Yeah, her," She ground out, just the thought of her made Santana's head hurt, and she wasn't in the mood to try and remember who her childhood friend was. "Whoever she is, I really can't remember."

"Santana," Rachel said desperately. She reached over so both of her hands were on Santana's lap. "There's something I have to tell you." Santana looked up at Rachel and reached out and smoothed out Rachel's eyebrows, which were furrowed close together.

"So beautiful," Santana continued to smooth them out and Rachel froze. She was familiar with the action, but not with the words. Santana cupped one side of her face and placed her other hand on top of Rachel's.

"Santana, I-" Santana reached forward and Rachel felt Santana's lips on her own. Rachel froze as her mind tried to process everything, and then it hit her. Here she was, in the middle of the night alone with Santana, who was kissing her. Like, right now. Rachel quickly kissed back and Santana moved her hand from Rachel's hand to her hair, deepening the kiss.

Rachel moaned and put her hand on Santana's shoulders. Rachel ran her tongue along Santana's lip, begging for entrance. Santana gratefully gave her access and the two had their tongue's dancing around each other's. They continued for what seemed like hours and pulled apart for air. They looked at each other as they breathed hard, completely caught up with each other and not looking away.

Suddenly, the sliding door opened and their moment was gone. They pulled apart quickly and would have fallen off the steps if it wasn't' for the railing. Jocks cheering stumbled out in just shorts and walked past Santana and Rachel to the Jacuzzi Puck had. They left the door open and the music from inside blasted out into the yard. Santana quickly stood up and looked at Rachel.

"I'm, um, going to get Britt and Q." Rachel nodded and followed Santana inside the house. Santana reached behind her and grabbed Rachel's hand, careful not to lose the short brunette again. Luckily, Brittany and Quinn never left the couch, but their situation was completely different. Quinn was sitting on the couch looking positively happy while Brittany was giving her a lap dance.

"Oh, hey guys." Brittany waved, never stopping the lap dance she was giving Quinn. Santana sighed and pulled Brittany off, making Quinn glare at her.

"What the fuck, S?" Quinn yelled and Santana raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything. She helped Brittany change back into her clothes while Rachel looked after a sulking Quinn. Once Brittany was changed Santana and Rachel led the two to Santana's car, where they started making out in the back seat.

Santana decided to drive Brittany and Quinn home first, with Brittany's home first. Rachel had to hold Quinn back as Santana pried the two apart and got Brittany out of the car. Quinn pouted but noticed Rachel was in the car still, and began cuddling with her instead. Unfortunately, Quinn stayed glued to Rachel's side on the way to her house, all the while cursing at Santana for taking Brittany away. When they reached Quinn's house, Santana helped the girl inside while Rachel moved to the front seat and waited.

She saw Santana come out of the house with her hands in her pockets, looking at the ground. When she finally looked up to Rachel, Rachel looked down at her hands. Santana frowned and looked down again. When she got in the car the two didn't look at each other and the drive to Rachel's house was silent. Santana pulled up to Rachel's house, but Rachel didn't leave the car, and Santana bit her lip and looked at Rachel.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No," Rachel said, closing her eyes and sighing. "I-I liked it, I really did. It was, god, it was amazing." Santana smiled but frowned when Rachel still refused to meet her gaze.

"Rachel, look at me," Rachel sighed and looked up at Santana. Santana reached over and grabbed Rachel's hand. "What is it?"

"There's something I have to tell you," Santana nodded and Rachel looked at the time in the car. "But not now, tomorrow." Santana nodded again and squeezed Rachel's hand lightly. The two sat in awkward silence, neither sure what to do. Rachel unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door. Santana saw her getting out and quickly jumped out of the car.

"Santana?" Santana walked to her and shrugged.

"Figured I should walk you to the door, if you want." Rachel smiled at her and nodded. They walked up to the front door and Rachel turned around to say goodbye but Santana brought her in a tight hug before Rachel could say anything.

"You'll tell me what's wrong, right?" Rachel nodded and hugged Santana back tightly.

"I'll tell you everything." Santana had no idea what she meant, but nodded anyway when she felt Rachel tighten her grip. They finally pulled apart and Rachel walked inside and Santana sighed as she made her way to her car and drove home. It was a long night and all Santana wanted was to collapse in bed. When she did reach her home that was exactly what she did. She hadn't bothered changing, and as soon as she closed her eyes, she drifted to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Santana was in the play room, her friend quietly next to her. It had been a few days since Santana had saved her from the boy and drew the star. Santana looked over rand saw the girl staring at the picture.<em>

"_I have S on it, why don't you put the first letter of your name?" The girl looked up and Santana saw her big doe-like eyes brown eyes staring at her widely. Santana grabbed the gold colored pencil and handed it to her. The girl turned the paper over, where Santana had put the S, and slowly wrote an R. Santana saw her pause, as if she was thinking about writing her full name, but didn't and Santana was a little saddened by it. "S and R, huh?" The girl nodded and Santana sat closer to her. "Cool." Santana reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it the rest of the day._


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N:** Here's the next chapter, and thank you for all the review you guys sent, it means a lot.

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><p>Santana was sitting on her bed, her head in her hands. She groaned as she thought of the dream she had, again, it was a part of her past with <em>her<em>. She had finally, _finally_, remembered the face that went with her friend. The big brown eyes that could always see right past her, and the long brown hair and the big smile she had. Santana could remember how she was so shy and fidgety, would barely smile at all, and by the time they had parted ways Santana could have her laughing at anything she said.

Santana groaned as she got off the bed and walked to the dresser. The last football game was yesterday, and Sue allowed them to wear their own clothes, finally. She used to have them wear it all year and Santana remembered how much she had hated it. Santana reached for the drawer, but paused, and her hand hovered in the air for a few seconds. Suddenly, she knelt down and opened the last drawer, where there was hardly anything at all.

Reaching in, she grabbed it and carefully pulled it out. Sighing, she ran her hand along the folded clothing, her old clothes from the orphanage. She hadn't looked at it since she put in there, and now the clothes had brought back more memories than she already had been remembering. Memories of her and the girl who's name started with an R.

"I broke it" Santana said quietly. "I broke my promise."

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><p>Rachel sat alone in the choir room, against the wall in the corner of the room. She had promised Santana she would tell her everything, which meant the orphanage, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for that. She went through her backpack and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She quickly unfolded it and smiled.<p>

It was the star Santana had drawn for her, and she giggled when she remembered how Santana got the boy that was picking on her in trouble. She turned the picture around and saw the S and R Santana had initialed in the back. She ran her finger along the letters, trying to find comfort in them.

"It will be fine, everything will be fine," Rachel said softly. "Santana will understand, she has to." The bell rang and Rachel looked at the picture one last time before putting it in the pocket of her jeans and getting up. She walked through the hall, barely too lost in her own world to notice everyone else, and walked to class.

She was one of the first people in class, and sat quietly, looking at the words students marked into the desk. Rachel felt someone sit next to her and looked up to see Santana sitting in Puck's seat. Santana reached over and grabbed one of Rachel's hands, which were resting on her lap, and looked at her worriedly.

"Are you okay?" Rachel forced a smile and nodded. Santana looked from her face down to her clothes and Rachel looked down, realizing she wasn't wearing the argyle sweaters, skirts, or knee high socks. Instead, she was wearing worn jeans, a black hoodie, and sneakers. She looked at Santana's clothes and smiled when she saw Santana wasn't wearing the Cheerios uniform anymore.

"Nice clothes." Rachel said and Santana looked down and laughed lightly.

"You too." Santana said back, smiling at her. Puck came over and watched the two, and Santana was the first to notice. Santana gave Rachel's hand a squeeze before getting up and walking to her own desk, where Brittany had just gotten to and was waiting patiently. Puck sat down and looked at Rachel, who was back to staring at her desk.

"What's wrong?" Puck asked quietly and he leaned closer to her as Mr. Schuester came in and started the lesson. Rachel reached out and took Puck lightly, making him jump in surprise.

"I'm going to tell her." Puck looked at Santana, who was busy writing something in her notebook, and let Rachel hold his hand. He knew she was going to need all the luck she could get. The rest of the class Rachel was quiet and once the bell rang, Santana was standing in front of Rachel.

"Hey," Santana said, unsure of where they stood after the kiss. "I'll walk you to class." Rachel nodded and stood up. Saying goodbye to Puck, she followed Santana out of the room and the two walked to Rachel's next class. They were silent as they walked and Santana walked closely to Rachel, with the back of her hand brushing against Rachel's. Santana wanted to hold Rachel's hand, she wanted to kiss Rachel again, but she wasn't sure if Rachel would let her. Last night she acted out of impulse, and didn't think about what she was doing, just that it felt so good. Santana suddenly stopped and grabbed Rachel's hand, pulling her towards her. Rachel gasped in surprise as she Santana yanked her towards her and Rachel fell into the taller girl's body.

"Santana?" Rachel said softly, looking up at her.

"You've been off today, and we need to talk, like you said yesterday." Rachel nodded and put her head on Santana's chest. Everything. That was what Rachel was afraid of. Santana frowned and wrapped her arms around Rachel.

"We'll talk after school." Rachel said and Santana nodded.

"Can I still walk you to your classes?" Rachel laughed and nodded, making Santana smile. They pulled apart and Santana grabbed Rachel's hand. When she reached Rachel's class she leaned in and kissed Rachel on the cheek. She leaned back and saw Rachel tracing her cheek with her finger and smiling shyly. Santana grinned at her before making her way to her own class.

Santana sat down in the back and didn't pay attention to anything the teacher was saying. Instead, she opened a notebook and began drawing on it. In the middle of the notebook, she wrote Sand R and drew a large star around it.

"R…" She muttered, frowning as she thought of what her name could be. She didn't know anyone whose name started with an R, well, that was a lie. There was one person. Which was Rachel. Her hand froze as she thought about it. Rachel also had the same brown hair and eyes. Her eyes widened at the coincidence, before scoffing and pushing the thought away. Brunette's were common, especially in Ohio, and a lot names started with an R. That's right, Santana thought as she went back to her drawing, it's just a coincidence.

As soon as the bell rang, she walked to Rachel's class just as the shorter girl walked out. Santana quickly walked up to Rachel and grabbed her hand, and Rachel smiled up at her, basking in the warmness of Santana's hand wrapped around hers. Santana ended up walking Rachel to every class, even if that meant being late to her own, and finally the only place left to go to was Glee Club and together they walked in hand in hand.

They sat in the back together and watched as everyone else started piling in. Soon enough, Mr. Schuester arrived and started talking about song selections, but the two girls weren't paying attention. All Rachel could think about was how to tell Santana about their past, about _her_, and Santana's reaction. Santana, on the other hand, was trying to figure out who the girl from her dream was, and all the other memories that came with her.

Before they knew it, Glee ended and everyone started getting up and leaving, except Rachel and Santana, who were still sitting in their chairs. Puck, Quinn, and Brittany shared a look as they stayed in the room and looked at the two girls worriedly.

"Bro?" Puck said and Rachel and Santana jumped. They both looked up, having been too lost in their thoughts to notice everyone leaving.

"Oh, right," Rachel got up and Santana quickly followed suit. The two looked at each other before Rachel turned back to Puck. "Well, um, me and Santana have to go now." They quickly walked out, leaving the other three behind. Quinn and Brittany looked at each other with confused looks while Puck looked at the doorway Rachel and Santana walked out of knowingly. He looked back to Quinn and Brittany and smiled at them.

"Well, later." He waved at them and Quinn sighed as she waved back. After Puck left Quinn grabbed Brittany's hand, making the taller girl giggle happily, and led them out of the room.

* * *

><p>Rachel and Santana were at Rachel's locker, with Rachel leaning against her locker and Santana doing the same next to her. Rachel sighed; it was time to start talking. Santana looked over and grabbed her hand.<p>

"Hey, you okay?" Rachel laughed lightly.

"That's the third time I've been asked that." Santana laughed lightly and the two were silent again. Santana thought back to the party, before she kissed Rachel.

"You said you wanted, well, needed to tell me something I, ya know, kissed you…" Santana trailed off, not sure if she should have mentioned it. Rachel nodded.

"I need to tell you something," Rachel started off again and Santana nodded, not interrupting Rachel this time. "I-it's about those dreams you said you had."

"My dreams?" Santana asked, confused. "What do they have to do with anything?" Rachel bit her lip, trying to pick out the right words.

"You dream about someone, right?" Santana slowly nodded, still confused. Had she mentioned her dreams to Rachel?

"Yeah, from the-" Santana stopped herself from saying orphanage, and Rachel sighed, knowing exactly what she was going to say. "From where I used to live, for a bit." Rachel looked at the time, knowing it was going to be a long talk, and turned to her locker to open it and put her books away. She preferred having this conversation anywhere but school, where anyone could walk in or eavesdrop.

"From the orphanage." Rachel said softly and Santana froze. She never told anyone that her biological parents died and she was sent to the orphanage, where she met _her_, the girl's who's name started with an R. Santana reached out and grabbed Rachel's wrist as she twisted the lock on her locker. Rachel instinctively jumped and flinched away at the sudden movement.

"How did you know that?" Santana snapped, harsher than she intended, making Rachel try and pull away. Santana realized her tone and looked down at her hand that was gripping Rachel's wrist tightly. She let go, guiltily, and Rachel brought her wrist close to her chest. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay." Rachel said quickly, rubbing her wrist. Santana sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"How do you know about the orphanage?" She asked again.

"You had a friend there, right?" Santana's eyes widened and Rachel continued. "Do…do you remember what she looked like? Or a name?"

"How…she…she had brown hair and brown eyes, and…" Santana looked down, thinking of her. "She was tiny, I always protected her though," Santana smiled at the memories. "She likes gold, and stars, and…and her name starts with an R…" Rachel's eyes widened as she listened to Santana. Santana knew everything, well, nearly everything.

"Yeah…" Was all Rachel could say and she brought her hand out to support herself on the lockers.

"You're name starts with R," Rachel looked at Santana, who was looking straight at her. Rachel gulped, her throat suddenly dry, watching Santana's eyes search hers. Santana started shaking her head. "No," Santana said. "No, fucking hell, no. I've thought about it but no, you're not her, no!" Santana slammed her fist on the lockers, a scowl on her face.

"Santana, yes! How else would I know about the orphanage. It's me! I'm-" Santana slammed the locker again and stepped close to Rachel, making the shorter girl cower in fear.

"No, you're not." She said coldly. "Someone told you and now you're fucking with me. Damn it Rachel, how could you do that?" Rachel shook her head.

"No one told me, I'm telling you the truth. I'm your friend from the orphanage, you drew me a star and protected me and was my only friend." Santana backed up and glared at her. "How do you know about that?" Santana backed up again and almost slipped. She looked down to see a folded piece of paper and when she bent down to pick it up Rachel checked her pockets. Rachel's eyes widened when she realized the drawing of the star had fallen from her pockets.

"Santana, that's-" But it was too late. Santana unfolded it and saw the golden star she had drawn years ago. Santana looked at it and began shaking her head in disbelief.

"No," She slowly started to flip it over with shaky hands. Sure enough, there she saw the Sand R she had wrote in the back. Her face went from disbelief to fury in a matter of seconds, and she walked up to Rachel and pushed her against the lockers.

"How did you get this?"

"Santana, it's me." Santana scowled and shook her head. Santana didn't want to believe it, she had ignored all the coincidences. Looking at the picture and Rachel now, though, the coincidences were too ignore. Santana looked at the drawing again and then back up to Rachel. With one last glare she turned around and started walking away. "Santana!" Rachel ran forward and grabbed her arm. Santana stopped and yanked her arm out of Rachel's grip.

"Don't touch me," Santana said coldly and Rachel winced at the words.

"Please, let's talk about this and-"

"No," Santana interrupted and she turned to Rachel, angrier than Rachel had ever seen her. "We're not going to talk about this. You knew all along and you lied," Rachel shook her head and opened her mouth to say she hadn't been lying, but Santana cut her off again. "We're not going to talk. Ever" Santana spun around and stormed down the hall and out of the school, leaving Rachel speechless in the hall. She walked to the lockers and slid down to the floor. She had finally told Santana, and her worst nightmare came true.

She lost Santana, again.


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N****: **Thank you for all the reviews, I was worried I had done the way Santana found out wrong. Well here's the next chapter, and since this fic is coming to a close, I was thinking of posting one-shots of Rachel and Santana in the orphanage, all based on this fic. However, that's an if, it depends if people are interested enough for me to post them.

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><p>Rachel felt numb. She was still in the school leaning against the lockers on the floor looking like a mess. She didn't care though, she <em>was<em> a mess. A crying, broken mess. Rachel wasn't sure how long she had been sitting on the floor crying, but when she finally got up and walked outside, her car was one of the few left.

She dragged her feet to the car and slumped in the front seat. What was she going to do now? She had lost Santana, again, only this time she was sure Santana was never going to talk to her again. Sighing, she turned on the car and started driving to the only person she trusted enough with this ordeal.

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><p>Santana was furious. Rachel, Santana groaned. It was still hard of her to think of Rachel as <em>that<em> Rachel. Santana was mostly angry at herself though, how could she have been so stupid? She kept having the dreams and yet she couldn't figure out that the girl from so lon ago had been in front of her the entire time.

She had finally gotten home and she pulled up in the driveway, but she didn't get out of the car. She sat in the car in silence for a few moments before slamming her fists onto the steering wheel in frustration. She grabbed her phone and dialed the number of the first person she thought of. She needed to tell someone of this disaster of a situation, because she honestly didn't know what to do. Plus, she had a habit of not thinking straight when she was angry. After a few rings, the person picked up and Santana was the first to say something.

"Meet me at Breadstix, and bring Britt too." Santana snapped.

"Santana, are you okay? You sound a little-" Santana hung up before Quinn could finish her sentence. She quickly pulled the car out of the driveway and drove to Breadstix, knowing it won't be long until Quinn and Brittany arrived there too.

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><p>Puck was sitting on his couch, with Rachel laying down with her head on his lap. Earlier, Puck had opened his door earlier when the doorbell rang to see Rachel on the other side, and as soon as her eyes met his, which were still red and puffy from crying earlier, she broke down again. Puck quickly wrapped his arm around her and brought them to the couch.<p>

Puck looked down and frowned. Rachel was dead silent, and she was staring at the TV he was watching earlier, but it was clear she wasn't paying attention to it. Her eyes seemed glazed over and Puck ran his hand through her hair.

"Rachel?" He said softly and Rachel didn't move or say anything. Puck began worrying and tried again. "Rachel, what's wrong?" Rachel finally looked up at him with dead eyes that just killed him on the inside.

"She…I told Santana," Rachel said softly and Puck lifted her up from his lap and hugged her close to his body. "She never wants to talk to me again." Puck didn't know what to say, so he just hugged Rachel. Rachel didn't hug back through, with her arms hanging limply and her head in the crook of his neck.

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><p>Quinn and Brittany walked into Breadstix and looked over the tables to find Santana. When they finally did, they rushed over and stopped just in front of the table. When Santana didn't look up from staring at the table, they looked at each other worriedly and slid in the other side. Brittany reached out and put her hand on Santana's shoulder, making Santana jump.<p>

Santana looked up at them and sighed. She put her head in her hands and groaned. How was she going to tell them? They knew nothing, not even Brittany knew about the orphanage.

"S, what's wrong?" Quinn asked and Santana removed her hands from her face.

"I fucked up, that's what." Santana grumbled, looking up at them.

"Is this about Rachy?" Santana nodded and Quinn raised an eyebrow.

"What did you do?" Santana scoffed.

"Ya know, it's not _all _my fault, if the hobbit said something in the beginning I wouldn't have been going through all that shit trying to figure her out in my dreams and she fucking tells me after the kiss and-"

"Woah, there," Quinn said, efficiently stopping Santana in her rant. "Kiss? Dreams? And since when do you call Rachel hobbit?" Santana sighed as Quinn tried to wrap her head around everything.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Brittany offered and Quinn nodded. Santana sighed, she had no choice, it was the only way for them to understand if she wanted to tell them everything.

"The beginning," Santana scoffed and shook her head. "That was years ago, when I was eight." Brittany and Quinn silently encouraged her to continue. Santana took a deep breath and started from the beginning, the day her biological parents died and was sent to the orphanage.

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><p>Puck and Rachel hadn't moved. Puck was still hugging Rachel, and she was still limp in his arms. Puck wondered if Rachel fell asleep and he was going to move to lay her down on the couch. Rachel finally moved her arms and pushed herself away from Puck.<p>

"Thank you, Noah," Puck smiled sadly and nodded.

"Anytime," Puck said and the smile came off his face and he looked at her seriously. "Seriously, you need me and I'm here. I got your back all the time."

"And I got yours." Rachel said softly. Puck smiled and patted Rachel's head.

"I know you do. But we need to talk," Rachel's face fell and Puck pulled her close to him again. Rachel sighed and put her head on Puck's shoulder as she sat on his lap. "I'm guessing Santana didn't take it well." Rachel nodded and took a shaky breath.

"She screamed at me, she won't talk to me again," Puck mentally cursed at Santana and rubbed his hand up and down Rachel's back. "Everything we ever had, it's gone. I've lost her and it's my fault."

"No," Puck said quickly. "It's not your fault." Rachel started crying again and she shook her head.

"We kissed," Puck froze and furrowed his eyebrows together. "At the party, we kissed when I tried to tell her and… and I told her today and everything's messed up and there's nothing I can do about it." Puck simply held her as she cried into his shoulder. After Rachel's crying died down Puck kept his arms wrapped around her and they stayed like that in silence. Finally, after a few minutes, Rachel spoke up again.

"Can you let me go? I need to use the bathroom…" Rachel blushed a little at the words.

"Oh, sorry," Puck let her go and Rachel slid off him. She smiled at Puck as she made her way to the bathroom. On the way back, she passed by his room again, and this time stopped in the doorway. She looked at his room for a few seconds and walked in and sat on his bed.

She was glad she had Puck, and she was pretty sure Puck was glad to have her too. From the first day they met in the halls of McKinley, he watched out for her and they quickly became best friends. Rachel thought back to when she was crying in his lap not that long ago, and she smiled. Despite his reputation at school, Rachel knew Puck was actually a good person who would drop everything in a heartbeat to help a friend in need.

As she looked around the room, seeing everything that was Puck, she noticed his mini fridge. She quickly stood up and walked over to it. She knelt down and opened the door, biting her lip as she looked inside. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed one of Puck's beer cans from his stash and looked at it. She hadn't really drunk before, she never found a need to, but now, maybe drinking away her problems would help. She heard and seen people do it before, and maybe it would help her. She opened it, and quickly drank the can. The drink burned in her throat but she quickly grabbed another. She had nothing to lose; after all, she already lost Santana.

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><p>Santana had finished through what she considered the story of the better part of her life. From her biological parent's death to when she really met Rachel all the way to the kiss and Rachel telling her the truth. Everything, in excruciating detail and probably took an hour or two, Santana wasn't really paying attention to the time.<p>

"You're…you're adopted?" Quinn asked disbelievingly and Santana scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Really Q? Out of all of the shit I told you _that's_ what stuck in your head?" Quinn shook her head.

"No, sorry it's just…" Quinn rubbed her head and sighed. "It's a lot to take in." Santana sighed and her face softened.

"I know, sorry for bitching at you. All of this is just…"

"Complicated?" Quinn offered and Santana laughed.

"That's one way to put it." Santana looked at Brittany, who had been quiet. Her eyebrows were furrowed together and she had a concentrated look on her face. "Britt?" Brittany looked up and leaned over the table.

"S, it's her, Rachy's her. That's great!" Santana sighed and rubbed the back of her head.

"Yeah, I know it's her, now." Brittany frowned and leaned back.

"Then what's the problem?" Brittany asked, confused.

"I told her to never talk to me again." Santana admitted and she looked down, too ashamed to look at the other two.

"Why?" Brittany asked.

"Look, I was pissed, okay?" Santana explained. "She kept this from me, how could she do that?"

"Maybe because she was afraid." Quinn said and Santana rolled her eyes.

"Yeah right, why would she be afraid." Santana crossed her arms defiantly and glared at Quinn. Quinn rolled her eyes and gave Santana a stern look.

"Maybe she was afraid you would react like you just did," Quinn snapped and Santana went from glaring to looking ashamed. "You both lost each other a long time ago and Rachel recognized you and saw what your stubborn head didn't. I bet she was afraid of losing you again." Santana looked down with a loss of words.

"Don't you care about her?" Brittany asked and Santana's head snapped up.

"Of course I do!" Brittany flinched a little at the sudden loud outburst, making Quinn glare at Santana. Santana sighed and leaned back in the booth again. "Sorry, it's just-" Santana sighed again. "I do care. Rachel was my first friend at the shit-hole of an orphanage," Santana laughed lightly. "God, when I first met her," Santana shook her head. Ever since Rachel told her the truth, the memories came back faster than before. It was like the only that was blocking the memories was gone and now they were all flooding into her head. "She looked terrified, it was her first day and all, and we just sat there cuz she wouldn't talk." Santana had a smile on her face and Quinn and Brittany smiled as they listened to the memory. "All we had was each other, just us, and then…she left and I got adopted pretty quick."

"Why didn't you remember all this time?" Brittany asked softly.

"I guess I blocked it out, cuz it hurt so much that she was gone, she was my best and only friend," Santana frowned at the words. Was wasn't the right word anymore. "She _is_ my best friend and I…I love her," Suddenly Santana covered her face with her hands. "I can't believe I said those things, now I lost her. I fucking hate myself."

Quinn and Brittany looked at each other before rushing to Santana. Brittany easily crawled under the table while Quinn got up and walked to Santana's side. With Santana in the middle, they both held her as she cried, and Santana never cried in public. She never dared to let anyone outside her close friend and family she her vulnerable, but now she didn't give a crap who saw her cry.

* * *

><p>Puck started getting worried when Rachel hadn't come back. For a while he thought she had locked herself in the bathroom, so he got up to check on her. What he didn't expect on the way to the bathroom was seeing Rachel in his room.<p>

He stopped and looked at her confused. From the hallway he saw her laying on his bed, with her back facing the doorway. Puck slowly walked in and she didn't turn around. He sat down on the bed and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Rachel?" Rachel suddenly sat up and looked at Puck groggily before grinning and throwing herself onto him.

"Noah!" She wrapped her arms around him and Puck saw a beer can in one of her hands. He frowned and quickly grabbed it, making Rachel angry. "Gimme, it's mine." Rachel slurred as she reached forward and slipped. She nearly fell off, if it wasn't for Puck quickly wrapping his arm around her waist.

"What the hell? What's with the drinking?" Puck asked angrily. Rachel flinched at his tone and curled herself against him.

"I'm sorry," Puck sighed and put the can down. "I don't wanna be sad anymore." Puck wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled into his chest. Suddenly, she frowned and punched his chest.

"Ow, what the hell?" Puck may have been strong, but Rachel hit hard, and it really did hurt.

"Tana's softer," Rachel said and began pouting. "I want San," Rachel placed her head against Puck's chest. "Miss her." Puck raised an eyebrow at Rachel's new nicknames for Santana, but sighed and grabbed his phone, knowing what to do.

* * *

><p>Santana had stopped crying, but Quinn and Brittany were still hugging her when Santana's phone went off. She gave both of them a smile and they moved back a little to let her get her phone. She looked at the caller ID and saw Puck's name and rolled her eyes. Puck was one of the last people she wanted to talk to, so she just ignored the call. When he called again she ignored it as well, but when he called a third time she picked it up.<p>

"I'm a little busy here." Santana snapped.

"Yeah, like hell you are," Puck snapped back. "Come here and fix the mess you made." Santana heard another voice talking to Puck, Rachel's, and she began worrying.

"Is that Rachel?"

"Yeah, you need to take her home, cuz she's drunk." Santana furrowed her eyebrows together. Drunk? She had never seen her drunk, and she didn't think she was the type to drink anyway, especially when she didn't drink at the party.

"Why don't you?" Santana asked, she wasn't sure she was ready to see Rachel again, drunk or not.

"She wants you, Santana." His tone wasn't angry anymore; instead it was soft with a hint of desperation in it. Santana sighed.

"I'm coming," She herd Puck's sigh of relief as she ended the call. Putting her phone away, she turned to Quinn and Brittany. "I need to go see Rachel and-"

"It's fine, go." Quinn said, getting up so Santana could get up as well. Santana nodded and stood up. Just as she walked past Quinn, she felt her wrist be grabbed. Looking down, she saw Quinn's hand wrapped around her wrist, and she looked up at Quinn.

"Q?"

"No matter how bad you've fucked up, you can still fix things between to you two, you know." Santana looked down as Quinn spoke.

"I don't know, I fucked up big time…"

"S, look at me," Santana sighed and looked up at Quinn. "You two got past the fact that you hadn't seen each other in years. I'm pretty sure you'll get past this too." Santana smiled at Quinn. Quinn gave Santana a hug before letting her go and watched Santana walk out of Breadstix as fast as she could.

"You could be, like, a professional speaker." Quinn turned to Brittany and smiled as she sat down next to her.

"Thanks," Quinn sighed as she thought back to Santana telling them her life story. "I can't believe there was so much we didn't know about Santana." Brittany nodded.

"But now we do, and we can help her and Rachy out more." Quinn nodded.

"If I was in her place, I'd probably never be adopted." Quinn said softly thinking about her past. Before high school, before she went by Quinn, and went by Lucy and when she was tormented by the name Lucy Caboosey and was overweight and too ugly for even her father to love completely. Brittany watched her as she saw a wave of emotion flow through Quinn's face as the shorter blond was lost in her own thoughts. Brittany smiled softly and put her hand on Quinn's, making Quinn look up at her.

"I think you would have," Brittany said cheerfully. "If I saw a little Quinn I'd definitely adopt her." Quinn laughed and shook her head.

"Thanks, B." Brittany nodded and snuggled into Quinn. Quinn looked at her with a raised eyebrow but didn't say anything. She looked away and smiled at the nice feeling of Brittany's body against hers.

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><p>Santana barely remembered to shift her car into park when she drove up to Puck's house and she nearly fell on her face in her rush to get to the front door. She rang the doorbell impatiently, jabbing it constantly until she heard a swearing Puck nearing it from the other side. The door swung open and before Puck could say anything, Santana walked inside and faced him.<p>

"Where's Rachel?" Puck sighed and led her to the living room, where Rachel was slumped on the couch, singing drunkenly. Santana sighed and walked to Rachel and knelt down in front of her. "Rachel?" Rachel stopped singing and looked at Santana. She didn't say or do anything and Santana was afraid she would never speak to her again. Suddenly, Rachel lunged forward and hugged Santana tightly.

"Saaan," Rachel sighed and dug her face in the crook of Santana's neck. "Smell good." Rachel giggled, breathing in Santana's scent.

"And you smell like beer, c'mon," Santana stood up and dragged Rachel to her feet. She tried pulling Rachel's arms away and Rachel only clung on tighter.

"No!" She shook her head furiously and pulled away slightly to stomp her foot in frustration, and lost her balance as she did so. "Oops." Rachel slurred out as Santana held her up by the waist. Santana sighed as Rachel swayed in her arms. She put an arm under Rachel's knees and lifted the girl up in her arms. Santana walked to Puck and nodded at him.

"I'm going to take her home," Puck nodded and opened the door for her. He wanted to yell at her, he was definitely still angry enough, but first he had to make sure Rachel got home safely. As Santana walked passed Puck, she turned to him. I can get her to the car myself." Puck nodded and Santana walked to her car. Rachel shifted in her arms as she giggled and looked up lovingly at Santana.

"You were always so strong." Santana stopped walking and looked down at Rachel.

"You were always so tiny." Rachel giggled again and snuggled against Santana's chest. Santana sighed and walked to the car; she opened it and gingerly placed Rachel inside. After buckling her in and closing the door, she went to the driver's side and started the car. As Santana drove, she forced herself to concentrate on the road. Rachel was leaning over as best she could with the seatbelt, clinging onto Santana and trying to get her attention.

On the way to Rachel's house, the short brunette had fallen asleep and Santana looked over at her. She was slumped against the seatbelt, still leaning toward Santana. Santana gently pushed her back against the seat and Rachel's sleeping form shifted so that she was leaning against the door. Santana smiled and looked back at the road, taking Rachel's hand with one of her own.

They finally reached Rachel's house and Santana quickly got out of the car. She unbuckled Rachel from the seat and picked her up in her arms. As she walked to the door she took a deep breath, not knowing how to face Rachel's mother.

She slowly rang the doorbell and waited for what felt like forever. Finally, the door opened and Shelby looked down at Santana's arms and saw Rachel. Panic went through her face and she grabbed Rachel from Santana.

"What happened?" Shelby asked as she looked at Rachel worriedly.

"S-she's fine," Shelby looked at Santana and she shrank under the older woman's harsh stare. "She got drunk and passed out." Shelby frowned and looked at Rachel.

"Rachel never drinks." Santana sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, me and Rachel got into a fight," Shelby looked at Santana and narrowed her eyes at her. Santana looked down shamefully. "I'm sorry, I…" She sighed. "I should go." Santana turned around and walked to her car. She didn't need to look to see if Shelby was watching her as she walked to her car and drove off.

When she finally reached her house, she ran up to her room and slammed the door closed. She collapsed on the bed and thought back to Rachel's house, when Shelby opened the door. She groaned when she realized that wasn't the first time she saw her. Santana remembered Shelby at the orphanage that day when she took Rachel away.

Shelby had seen her too, but Santana doubted Shelby recognized her now. Santana was back in Rachel's life, had gone to her home and saw Shelby once again. Santana thought about going to Rachel's house to check on her, but Santana was sure Shelby hated her for making Rachel pass out drunk and would never let them see each other again.

Santana mentally kicked herself, she and Rachel were great. That was, until Santana overreacted and everything went to shit, and now Santana was afraid she messed things up for life, and it was irreparable. And it was all her fault.


	20. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Thanks for all the reviews everyone, especially those that review every chapter. Really, I appreciate them, especially now when this story's ending. After this there might be only one or two chapters, depending if I add an epilogue (since I have a prologue). Anyway, I'm rambling now, so here's the next chapter.

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><p>Rachel's first thought was, thank god it's the weekend. She was sitting up in bed, holding her head in her hands. She had only recently woken up, and sitting up was the first mistake she did. Her head was killing her and she finally understood the big deal of hangovers.<p>

She heard the door open and didn't bother looking up, she was too busy trying to deal with her throbbing head. She felt Shelby sit on the bed and rub her back. Rachel leaned into the touch and put her head on Shelby's chest like she would do when she was younger.

"Head hurts." Rachel said softly and Shelby ran her hand through Rachel's dark locks.

"I know," Shelby said, having had her fair share of hangovers. "Let me get you some painkillers." Shelby kissed the top of her head and left the room, she came back a few minutes later with water and the painkillers. Rachel smiled gratefully as she took them from Shelby, and as she took the pill Shelby walked to the other side of the bed and climbed under the covers next to Rachel.

Rachel put the water down and looked at her hands silently. The last thing she remembered was going to Puck's house, being on his couch crying. Then, she woke up in her bed.

"I guess you want to know what happened." Rachel said softly and Shelby nodded.

"Please do, I wasn't expecting you're friend to brink you home unconscious." Rachel frowned and looked at Shelby.

"What friend?" She wondered if Puck carried her home.

"You tell me, it was girl with dark hair, she said you two had a fight." Rachel closed her eyes and groaned. That, she clearly remembered. How could she forget?

"Santana, she…" Rachel took a deep breath. "She's from the orphanage I stayed at," She heard Shelby gasp next to her. "Remember the day you picked me up, and my friend said bye to me?"

"I remember that girl coming up and giving you the ball and…oh," Shelby said as she recalled the memory more. Then she remembered Rachel had said her name in that hallway all those years ago, in front of Shelby, Rachel had called the girl Santana. "That's why she always sounded familiar when you said her name."

"She didn't remember me, at all, we were best friends and she forgot about me," Shelby put a comforting arm around Rachel and pulled her in a sideways hug. Rachel sighed and put her head on Shelby's shoulder. "And yesterday, I finally told her and she freaked and yelled at me and told me to never talk to her again."

"Oh, baby I'm sorry.""I don't know hat to do, and I can't handle losing her again, especially when-" Rachel cut herself off and Shelby raised an eyebrow.

"Especially when what?" Rachel blushed.

"Especially when I've fallen in love with her." Rachel closed her eyes, ready for some kind of rejection or yell from Shelby for loving another girl.

"Rachel, look at me," Rachel slowly did, expecting to find Shelby angry, but instead Shelby had a small smile on her face. "I don't care who you fall in love with, because I'll still love you the same and anyone would be lucky to have you. As for Santana, if she really loves you, then she'll regret what she did and try to fix things. Just remember, I'm here for you." Rachel smiled and hugged Shelby. The two stayed like that for a long time, only breaking apart when the doorbell rang.

Shelby got up and walked to the door, leaving Rachel in her room, and opened it. On the other side was Puck, and Shelby raised her eyebrows at him. Usually, he would stand confidently with a smug grin on his face, but today he stood awkwardly as he shifted from foot to foot.

"Morning, Ms. Corcoran." Puck said nervously, remembering Rachel telling him that she and Shelby had different last names.

"Good morning, Noah, what is it?" Shelby said with a smile, he hadn't been the one to bring Rachel home,, but she had no idea what part he played in getting Rachel to the state she was yesterday.

"I, um, just wanted to check up on Rachel. I mean, if she's up for it, or if you let me." Puck fumbled with his words and Shelby sighed and walked forward, making sure to close the door behind her.

"Rachel told me what happened with Santana." Puck sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, Rachel knew it was _that_ Santana from the first day of school, but she didn't say anything right away, ya know, didn't want to mess up any chance she had." Shelby looked at the door sadly, where Rachel was probably still in her room.

"She kept this from me this entire time…" Shelby said quietly.

"I-I bet she just didn't want to worry you." Puck said quickly, noticing the sad look she had. Rachel had explained to him her and Shelby's rocky relationship, and the last thing Puck wanted was for the older woman to feel guilty.

"Thank you, but I know it was that she didn't trust me," Shelby said sadly and opened the door again. "You can see her, if you want," Shelby said, motioning Puck forward. Puck nodded and walked inside and sat awkwardly on the couch. "I'll get Rachel," Shelby walked to Rachel's room, where Rachel was still sitting up and looking down at the covers. "Rachel," Shelby said from the doorway and Rachel looked up. "Noah's here."

Rachel blinked for a few seconds before realization caught up to her and she jumped out of the bed and nearly fell on her face. Shelby sighed and shook her head with a laugh, earning a glare from Rachel. As Rachel finished changing, Shelby walked to the kitchen and started breakfast. As Puck sat on the couch he sighed and leaned forward, resting his arms on his legs, and looked down. He wondered if coming was a mistake. Maybe Rachel didn't want to see him, or maybe Shelby thought Rachel's drunkenness was his fault. Though, as he thought about it, he did think it was his own fault she had gotten drunk.

"Hello, Noah," Puck looked up as Rachel sat down next to him and smiled.

"Hey," Puck said and leaned forward. "Are you okay?" Rachel laughed lightly and rubbed her head.

"Yes, but my head hurts," Rachel grumbled. "Like a bitch." Puck blinked and broke out in a fit of laughter at Rachel swearing. "Noah…" Rachel whined as she held her head.

"Sorry." Puck grinned and Shelby walked in.

"Hey you two, breakfast is ready," Puck got up and when Rachel didn't do the same, he pulled her up too. They walked to the table and Puck was surprised Shelby did have the same food as Rachel. He looked at her and she shrugged. "Rachel's vegan, not me." The three sat down and Puck and Shelby at while Rachel stared at her plate.

"You should eat bro." Rachel sighed and nodded. Slowly, she picked up her fork and picked at her food a bit before finally eating some of it.

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><p>Santana had locked herself in her room all last night after she dropped Rachel off, and only left her room to eat breakfast and not worry her parents. However, she ran back up to her room after breakfast and stayed there since.<p>

She thought of going to Rachel's house, but she was sure Rachel didn't want to see her. Even if she did, what could Santana say? She wasn't furious anymore, but she was definitely still a little angry and hurt. Angry that Rachel hid the truth from her and hurt that she had snapped at Rachel and ultimately hurt the other girl more than she was hurt from Rachel's actions. Santana sighed as she rolled over onto her back and closed her eyes. Suddenly, her phone went off and she answered it angrily.

"What?" She snapped.

"We really need to work on you answering the phone nicely." Quinn said from the other line and Santana sighed. Of course it would be Quinn.

"Sorry." Santana apologized and she could hear Quinn sighing from the other side.

"We haven't seen you since Breadstix." Quinn said, worry evident in her voice.

"It's only been one day and you're that lost without me? I'm touched." Santana sad sarcastically. She knew Quinn knew what she was doing, when things got too hard or hurt too much, she put on a mask to be the bitch the school knew her to be. Quinn understood perfectly, because she would do the same exact thing. Maybe that was why they understood each other so easily, because they were exactly the same. Instead of dealing with their emotions like a normal person, they put on a mask and hurt others because they were too weak to work out things themselves.

Unlike Rachel. Santana groaned as she thought of the other girl. Rachel wasn't like Santana, Rachel was probably handling this better than her. Santana really admired her sometimes, she never treated people like dirt, like Santana had done to her, and she was forgiving. Santana thought about what Rachel might have felt, knowing the truth and not telling her, and now she saw the girl as strong. She never let the fact that Santana obviously didn't know get to her.

"Cut the crap," Quinn said harshly, making Santana wince a little. Santana had been so lost in her thoughts she had forgotten about Quinn. "I'm talking about Rachel yesterday and how you went to see her." Santana rubbed her head and shrugged.

"It's a long story."

"Well, me and Britt are going to your house anyway, so tell us then." Santana opened her mouth to protest, but Quinn hung up. Santana threw her phone on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It wasn't long after that she heard the doorbell ring and heard one of her parents open the door and mumbled voices. Soon after, she heard the footsteps walking up the stairs and the door swung open and Quinn and Brittany walked in.

"Hey S," Quinn said, closing the door as Brittany jumped on the bed. "So?"

"Yeah, did you fix everything with Rachy?" Santana bit her lip and Quinn sat down on the other side of Santana.

"I would say I fixed things…" Quinn raised an eyebrow at her and Santana groaned. "She got drunk, okay? And I had to take her drunk ass home." Both Brittany and Quinn looked at Santana with shocked looks.

"Because of you?" Brittany asked lightly and Santana nodded, making Brittany frown.

"Oh god," Quinn said. "How did her parents react?" Santana sighed.

"Not parents, just one parent. Her mom gave me a death glare the entire time."

"So," Quinn said. "You haven't checked on her at all today, have you?" Santana rolled her eyes.

"No, I doubt her mom would let me," Santana scowled and flipped onto her stomach and hid her face in her arms. "Besides, I bet she'll be fine without me. She was fine without me before she came here." Santana spat, and Brittany and Quinn looked at each other before looking back at Santana.

"Will you be fine?" Brittany asked when Quinn opened her mouth, ready to yell at Santana for her idiocy. Quinn frowned at the interruption but didn't say anything else. By the way Santana was silent, it Brittany's words seemed to have its affect.

Santana frowned as she thought about what Brittany said. She wanted to say she would be fine without Rachel. She wanted to say she was fine after Shelby took Rachel away from her at the orphanage.

Then she was adopted and became Santana Lopez, and she met Brittany and eventually Quinn. The three of them became the unholy trinity, and Santana was the hottest piece of ass in all of McKinley. She would terrorize others for kicks and because she was a Cheerio and that was part of the job description. But, as cliché as it sounded, she felt complete in Glee Club, singing with everyone else. And not once did she think about Rachel.

So yeah, she definitely wanted to say she was fine, and will be fine, but the truth was she wasn't and wouldn't be fine.

After Shelby picked up Rachel and took her away, Santana cried herself to sleep that night. After that day she got into more fights than usual, so much that Santana was almost afraid of what her life would be like now if she never got adopted.

When Santana did get adopted and Felix told her to forget everything about the orphanage, she immediately thought of Rachel, and cried herself to sleep again. Some nights, before she really did forget everything, she snuck into Felix's bed at night for comfort, but only cried some more when she remembered sneaking into Rachel's bed at the orphanage.

When she met Brittany, she had already pushed away and forced herself to forget Rachel, but she felt a sense of déjà vu hit her. At the time she didn't know what it was and just ignored it when she befriended the girl. Now, Santana knew it was Rachel she was unconsciously trying to remember.

So no, she wasn't fine then, and she definitely wouldn't be fine now.

"No," Santana said shakily as she felt the tears coming. "I won't be fine," She felt Quinn and Brittany lay down next to her and rub her back. "I'll never be fine without Rachel."

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><p>For the rest of the weekend, both girls hardly left their rooms. Puck came over both Saturday and Sunday and tried to get Rachel out of the house while Quinn and Brittany tried to the same with Santana. However, both girls refused to even leave their rooms. Puck finally gave up at the end of Sunday and just brought his xbox over and they played video games all day. Quinn and Brittany just cuddled with Santana either on the couch or in her bed and watched TV. By the time it was Monday again, neither girl didn't want to go to school, because they were afraid to face the other.<p>

Puck sighed as she drove him and Rachel to the school. He literally had to drag her out of bed and helped her change into something wearable after she tried leaving the house in her pajamas and barefooted. Now, she wasn't talking and was slouched in the front seat of his car.

When they finally reached the school and were out of the car, Puck put his arm around her shoulders protectively. As he made his way to Rachel's locker, he noticed Santana leaning against her locker on the other side of the hallway, looking down at the floor with Quinn and Brittany protectively at her side.

Seeing Santana again brought back the memories of the weekend. He thought of walking up to Santana to yell at her, but he figured that would be too hard with Quinn and Brittany by her. Sighing, he turned back to Rachel as she closed her locker. Rachel gave him a painfully small smile that didn't reach her eyes and he put his arm back around Rachel's shoulder and led them to class.

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><p>Santana had looked up just as Puck put his arm around Rachel's shoulders and led her down the hall, making Santana growl. Quinn looked at Santana with a raised eyebrow.<p>

"What's your problem now?" Santana scowled in the direction Puck and Rachel had gone, despite the fact that she couldn't see them anymore.

"He's got his arm all over her, touching her." Quinn sighed.

"He's just trying to help," Quinn said, putting a hand on Santana's arm. "Like we are." The bell rang and Quinn looked at Brittany, who nodded at her.

"Come on, Santana." Brittany said softly, taking Santana's pinky with her own. Quinn gave Brittany a smile before walking off to her own class and Brittany tugged Santana to their own class. As they walked in, Santana forced herself not to look in the direction of Rachel's desk.

Finally, in the middle of class, Santana gave in and looked behind her to see Rachel slumped on her desk. As Santana stared, Rachel looked up and met Santana's eyes. They stared at each other until Rachel finally looked away. Puck noticed and looked up, only to glare at Santana. Santana glared back and cursed as she turned back around.

"What's wrong?" Brittany asked quietly as she frowned and stared Santana.

"Puck hates me, and I'm pretty sure Rachel hates me too." Brittany reached out and took Santana's hand and held it throughout the rest of class.

That was how the rest of the day went. With Santana and Rachel avoiding each other, while Quinn and Brittany hovered around Santana and Puck did the same with Rachel. By the time it was for Glee, Rachel stared at her open locker long after she put her books away. Puck stood next to her and looked at her worriedly.

"You okay?" Rachel rolled her eyes at him and he put his hands up. "Sorry, dumb question." Rachel sighed.

"I don't know if I want to go to Glee, Santana will be there and I know she doesn't want to see me," Rachel closed her locker and frowned. "I'm going to the bathroom," She walked off and Puck jumped off the lockers to follow her. Rachel suddenly stopped and turned around. "Alone, Noah." Puck stopped and grinned at her.

"Hey, I'm just looking out for my bro," Puck started turning around, but stopped to look at her. "See you in Glee?"

"Yeah." Puck nodded and walked off, with Rachel laughing lightly at his willingness to go to the girl's bathroom with her. She turned around and walked to the nearest bathroom.

She didn't really need to use the bathroom, she just wanted some peace and quiet by herself. The thought of going to Glee Club, with all those people, was suffocating. Then there was Puck. She really appreciated what Puck was doing, but she needed some breathing room.

She found the bathroom and quickly walked inside. As soon as she closed the door, she closed her eyes and leaned against it. She let out a deep sigh and opened her eyes again, and froze at the sight before her.

Santana was leaning over the sink, both her hands gripping its sides, and she was staring at Rachel with wide eyes. Rachel bit her lip and looked down as she stuffed her hands in her jean pockets. Santana was the last person she wanted to see.

"I can't fucking believe this," Rachel heard Santana say and closed her eyes, waiting for the same outburst she got from Santana a few days ago when she told the truth. Instead, she heard Santana laugh lightly she opened her eyes to see Santana smiling warmly at her. "So why are you here?"

"I needed to get away from everyone." Rachel said softly.

"Me too." Santana said and looked away. The two stood in uncomfortable silence, both wondering what to say next and if the other hated them as much as they thought. When the silence continued, Rachel thought about running out the door while Santana was ready to literally climb out the window if she had to. Santana looked at Rachel out of the corner of her eye and groaned.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly, and Rachel blinked. "I'm really, really fucking sorry." Rachel looked up again to see Santana looking down again, gripping the sink so hard Rachel was almost afraid the sink would break.

Slowly, Rachel pushed herself off the door and walked to Santana. Once she was next to her, she tentatively reached out and put her hand on top of Santana's. Santana looked up and Rachel smiled.

"Me too," Rachel said softly. "I'm sorry. I'm really, really fucking sorry." Santana laughed at Rachel saying the same thing. Santana stood up straight and looked down at Rachel's hand on top of hers, and frowned.

"You hate me, don't you." Rachel frowned and looked down.

"I thought you hated me…"Santana sighed and grabbed the hand that was on top of hers. "You were so mad and said you never wanted to talk to me again," Santana closed her eyes and internally kicked herself for saying those things. "I thought you hated me so much." Santana let go of Rachel's hand and pulled the smaller girl in for a hug.

"I'll always regret the way I reacted, but know that I'll never hate you," Santana said. "I love you too much." Santana whispered the last part, but Rachel heard it. She closed her eyes and snuggled in closer to Santana as she hugged back tightly. They didn't know how long they stayed like that, but it must have been a while, because suddenly the door swung open and the three people they were running from walked in.

"Found them." Brittany said with a smile.

"And they're looking pretty comfortable." Quinn muttered quietly, but loud enough for everyone to hear, as she grinned at them.

"There needs to be some explaining." Puck said, glaring at Santana. Rachel opened her eyes and frowned when she noticed Puck's glaring. Sighing, she pulled herself away a little and glared back at Puck.

"Stop looking at Santana like that," Rachel snapped harshly, making Puck take a step back in surprise. Quinn raised an eyebrow at the outburst as she and Brittany looked at her just as surprised, they had never heard her sound angry. Santana, on the other hand, just smiled proudly. "We both apologized anyway."

"Rachel, you were broken over the weekend, because of her," Puck spat. "And what, now everything's all good and fine?" Rachel froze and looked up at Santana.

"I don't know," She said quietly and Santana looked back at her. "But we _were_ working on it, until you three barged in." Puck seemed to deflate at the words and just sighed tiredly. Santana sighed and turned back to the other three.

"Look, we're leaving so we can work shit out, so later," Santana unwrapped her arms from around Rachel and grabbed Rachel's hand instead. Santana pulled them out of the bathroom and led them to the parking lot, where they stopped and Santana looked at Rachel curiously. "Who's house?" Santana really wanted some privacy between the two and she wasn't sure she was going to get that at her house.

"Mine, I suppose. My mom's not going to be home for a while." Santana nodded and they went to their own cars, forcing their hands to let go and making them miss the feeling already. Santana sighed as she followed Rachel to her house, they had a lot to talk about and they both knew it.


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: **This took me longer than I expected to upload, and I'm really sorry about that. I've just been busy with school related things and another pezberry story I'm doing for the Glee Big Bang.

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><p>Once they got to Rachel's house, they went straight to Rachel's room and sat on the bed. Both sighed, wondering where to begin.<p>

"You really don't hate me?" Rachel blurted out, and Santana rolled her eyes playfully.

"This again? No, I don't, besides you have more reason to hate me then I do to hate you." Rachel looked down and shrugged.

"I hid something important from you." Santana scoffed.

"Like I would have believed you if you told me when you first moved here, I didn't even remember you or the orphanage," Santana shrugged. "I just would of thought you were more of a freak and-" She cut herself off and Rachel noticed.

"You would have slushied me and call me more names?" Rachel offered and Santana sighed. Santana inched closer to her so their knees touched and she held both of Rachel's hands.

"I'm really sorry about that, what I did to you when you moved here," Santana scowled, disgusted with herself. "Especially because it was you, and I'm so sorry for forgetting."

"Why did you forget?" Rachel asked softly.

"Because," Rachel watched as Santana bit her lip and struggled with her words. "Because it hurt so much to lose you and I…I was too weak to deal with all the pain, so when I got adopted I made myself forget everything."

"Even me," Rachel whispered and Santana nodded silently. "It hurt so much, Santana, I know it was you but you didn't recognize me at all."

"Rachel, I'm so sorry, believe me when I say it's my biggest regret. I remember everything now and it's all too precious to forget again," Santana smiled at Rachel and reached out with one hand to tuck a hair behind her ear. "You're too precious to forget."

Santana cupped Rachel's face and Rachel closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. They stayed like that, with Rachel loving the feel of Santana's hand cupping her face and Santana gazing lovingly at Rachel. Rachel opened her eyes and smiled at Santana. She tugged on their joined hands and shifted to a laying position, bringing Santana down with her.

"You really remember?" Santana laughed and nodded, making Rachel's face light up. "Tell me, tell me things you remember about us."

"Like stories?" Rachel nodded and Santana laughed, the situation they were in was familiar. "Well," Santana started, and Rachel looked at her expectantly, looking very much like the child she was when they first met. "I would to this, tell you stories. I'd tell you all kinds of stories, some made up and some not."

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><p><em>Santana and Rachel were sitting on Santana's bed, with Santana sitting up and Rachel laying down. They had become accustomed to this, sneaking away from all the other kids and hanging out, just the two of them. Santana hated all the other kids, while Rachel was more afraid of them. Rachel had yet to say a word, so the other kids would easily make fun of her.<em>

_It infuriated Santana, no one made fun of _her_ Rachel. She definitely hated it when Rachel came to her crying, which happened a lot. She would have beaten all the kids up, but then she would get in trouble and she didn't want to be away from Rachel._

_So, as it seemed, one of the things that calmed the both of them down was storytelling. It definitely made Rachel happy and allowed Santana to put her energy to something that didn't involve violence._

"_And then the prince kissed the princess, and they lived happily ever after." Santana finished the story, and though it was too cheesy for her tastes, Rachel liked it and that was all that mattered to Santana. Rachel smiled brightly and clapped, making Santana grin. Rachel didn't say anything, but Santana could tell fairytale stories were Rachel's favorites._

_Sometimes, which Santana always apologized for after, she would tell Rachel scary stories. Every time she did, Rachel couldn't sleep and would sneak into Santana's bed at night to sleep with her. Not that Santana complained, in fact, she loved it._

_She loved being the one Rachel wanted and needed, and those nights she would put her arms around Rachel protectively. Santana loved holding Rachel, and she found those nights to be the ones where she slept better and without nightmares._

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><p>Rachel giggled. She remembered that, all the stories Santana told her of, and she loved every second of it. She loved wondering what Santana could come up with and laying in bed listening to her. Rachel suddenly thought of the scary stories and she slapped Santana on the arm lightly.<p>

"What was that for?" Santana asked and Rachel pouted.

"That's for the scary stories." Santana grinned.

"Sorry about that." Santana said cheerfully and Rachel glared at her.

"You don't sound sorry." Santana laughed.

"Nope, cuz I'm not," Santana said, ignoring the glare Rachel was giving her. "Awe, c'mon, you were so cute to scare and then you snuck into my bed," An idea popped into Santana's head and she looked at Rachel mischievously. "Let's see if you're still scared. Once there was this guy and he-"

"No," Rachel shrieked and covered her ears. She could see Santana laughing, hell, Santana was laughing so hard she could still hear her. Rachel uncovered her ears and crossed her arms. "Shut up."

"Are you gonna sneak into my bed tonight?" Santana asked, still laughing.

"I'm not talking to you anymore." Santana's laughing finally died down and she smiled at Rachel.

"Sorry, I'll stop." Rachel smiled and scooted closer to Santana.

"Tell me more." Rachel said excitedly.

"I don't know what you want me to say." Rachel frowned and thought back to their childhood together.

"Well, you were always protecting me." Santana smiled.

"The kids there were dicks." Rachel smiled, Santana was always protective of the people she was close to. Santana sighed and turned so she was laying on her back, and frowned in confusion when she heard something crumpling. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She unfolded it and smiled when she saw it was the picture she had drawn for Rachel. She had completely forgotten she had kept it after storming off.

"Ya know," Santana said, looking at the picture with a smile. She turned the picture around so that she was looking at the letters of their first name written. "When you first wrote R, I was wondering what your name could be." Rachel chuckled and moved so she could see the letters, which meant putting her head on Santana's chest.

"I thought about putting my full name, but you didn't so I didn't either." Santana smiled and wrapped an arm around Rachel's waist. Rachel couldn't help but smile at the action.

"I can't believe I didn't know your name for a few months."

"Well, it was my fault. My fathers' death put me in so much shock I became mute for a while." Santana frowned.

"It wasn't your fault and besides," Santana smiled at her. "I didn't let that get in the way of anything." Rachel smiled back at her.

"Even when I didn't say anything, you always knew what I needed." Rachel took the picture from Santana and turned it so the star was facing them.

"Is gold still you're favorite color?" Santana asked.

"Yeah," Rachel sighed and snuggled close to Santana. "This is nice, talking about the past." Santana looked at the picture and frowned.

"I broke the promise." Rachel sighed and nodded.

"I know, but it's okay, really."

"How is it okay?" Rachel sighed and pushed herself up on her elbows so she was looking down at Santana.

"Because now you remember, so I don't have to go through all that suffering of knowing what you didn't. So can we please stop punishing ourselves?"

"You're right, I'll stop." Truth was, Santana wasn't sure if she was ever going to forgive herself. All she had been doing lately was beating herself up for everything she had done to hurt Rachel. What she did know, thought, was that Rachel didn't need to hear her voice her regret on breaking promises.

Rachel and Santana stared at each other in silence and Santana reached up and moved a piece of hair behind her ear. Rachel smiled and grabbed Santana's hand and ran her thumb along the back of her hand. Rachel suddenly realized how intimate they were, and she let go of Santana's hand. When she started to push herself farther away from Santana, the taller girl reached out and grabbed Rachel's arms.

"No, don't go." The desperation in Santana's voice made Rachel pause and she leaned down a little again to cup Santana's cheek.

"What's wrong?" Santana frowned and leaned into Rachel's touch.

"It's just, I…" Santana bit her lip and shrugged. "I miss your touch." Rachel sighed and took one of Santana's hands that were still on her arm.

"What are we, Santana?" Rachel asked. "We kissed but now I don't even know where we stand."

"What do you mean?" Santana looked at her hand in Rachel's. "We kissed and I love you," Santana looked up at Rachel. "Do you love me?"

"I do, Santana, I've loved you for so long, long before we kissed." Santana smiled.

"And I remember everything. I want you, Rachel, I want to be able to hold your hand and kiss you in the hallway. I want to call you mine, and I want to be yours," Santana smiled sheepishly at Rachel. "Will you be my girlfriend, like officially?"

Rachel stared at Santana, she had longed for the other girl for some time now, and after almost losing Santana again, she felt like this was a dream. But it wasn't. It was real, in the end she didn't lose Santana, now and Santana was asking her to be her girlfriend. For once in her life, she couldn't be happier.

"Rachel?" Santana asked, worried by Rachel's silence.

"Y-you want us to be girlfriends?" Santana nodded and Rachel smiled. "Yes, oh god yes. I will definitely be your girlfriend." Santana smiled in relief as she brought a hand up to Rachel's face. Rachel grinned and leaned down to kiss Santana on the lips. Santana eagerly kissed back and moved the hand on Rachel's arm to her dark locks of hair.

Santana felt Rachel's tongue run along her bottom lip, begging for entrance, and Santana eagerly granted it, moaning as she felt their tongue's clash with each other. Santana felt Rachel smirk against her lips at the sound, and when they needed oxygen again Rachel bit Santana's bottom lip before sitting up.

"Damn." Santana said, out of breath. She had to admit, she wasn't expecting Rachel to be so…dominate. Not that Santana was complaining. As she looked up at Rachel, she realized that some time in their make-out session, Rachel had shifted so that she was straddling Santana.

Santana looked up at Rachel and unconsciously licked her lips. Rachel noticed and gave Santana an amused grin. She leaned down again and kissed Santana. As they kissed, Rachel put a hand under Santana's shirt and her hand made its way up to cup Santana's breast. Santana moaned again at the touch and she moved a hand down to Rachel's ass, making Rachel moan at the touch. They were so lost in their kiss, that they didn't notice Rachel's bedroom door open, followed by a gasp.

"Rachel!" Rachel jumped in surprise and fell off Santana and the bed, onto the floor. Santana looked up to see Shelby staring at the two wide-eyed. Santana paled and jumped off the bed. Rachel quickly followed and stood up awkwardly next to Santana, and the two tried to fix their clothes as discreetly as possible.

"Hello, Miss Corcoren." Santana said and she held out her hand. As Shelby took it she looked over Santana, who was panicking inside. Her hair was a mess, her clothes still wrinkled, and her face was still flushed.

"Santana." Shelby said and Santana looked shocked.

"Y-you know my name?" Shelby nodded and looked at Rachel, who's state was the same as Santana's.

"Rachel told me," Shelby said and looked back at Santana. "About everything." Santana frowned and looked down shamefully.

"Mom, stop freaking her out, she's-" Rachel paused and looked at Santana. She took a deep breath and grabbed Santana's hand. "She's my girlfriend." Santana smiled at her and Shelby raised her eyebrows.

"Well that explains what I just saw," Shelby said, making both girls blush. "So then the problems you two had is fixed?" Santana internally groaned and she looked at Shelby.

"Miss Corcoren, I never meant to hurt you daughter, I swear," Santana said, looking straight at Shelby. "I know she didn't deserve all the pain I put her through, but I promise I would never hurt her again." Rachel gave Santana's hand a comforting squeeze and Santana smiled warmly at her.

"Well then," Shelby said, making both girls look back at her. "As long as you keep that promise then we have no problem, I'll go make something for you two to eat," Shelby said and she turned to walk out. "That isn't each other." She said quietly, but loud enough for Rachel and Santana to hear. Once she left the room Rachel and Santana stood in silence before Santana let out a heavy sigh and laughed.

"Oh god, that was the scariest moment of my life," Santana sat down on the edge of the bed and covered her face. "And the most awkward way to officially meet my girlfriend's mom." Rachel laughed and sat down next to Santana.

"That was incredibly awkward," Rachel thought back to when Shelby walked in and she groaned. "I can't believe she walked in when I was all over you, god, I was ready to take off your shirt." Santana thought back to that moment and grinned. She uncovered her face and grinned at Rachel.

"If it helps, I had my hand on your ass," Rachel rolled her eyes at Santana. "Plus, you were really fucking hot." Rachel looked at Santana and gave her a seductive grin that would put Puck's to shame.

"Oh really?" Santana nodded and Rachel leaned forward and kissed Santana on the lips again. As they kissed, Rachel put her hand on Santana's thigh, making Santana shudder at the touch. Suddenly, she was thankful that she decided to wear a skirt instead of pants.

"Really?" They broke from the kiss and looked up to see Shelby at the doorway. Rachel let out a small groan and moved her hand from Santana's thigh. "Food's ready." Once Shelby left again, Santana turned to Rachel.

"She has the worst timing ever." Santana said quietly and Rachel giggled. Rachel stood up and held out her hand for Santana to take, which she gladly did, and the two headed for the kitchen to eat.

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><p>It turned out Santana was going to stay over longer than she intended. After they had eaten, they went back to Rachel's room, with Shelby calling out to keep the door open, much to Rachel's embarrassment. Once they were in her room, Rachel made Santana sit down on the bed and she stood in front of her.<p>

"Close you're eyes, I have a surprise." Santana laughed but did as she was told. Once her eyes were closed, Rachel ran over to the drawers and pulled out what she was looking for.

She turned to Santana and threw it at her, laughing when Santana jumped. Santana opened her eyes and looked at what had hit her. Her eyes widened when she saw it, and she slowly grabbed it.

"You…you still have it." Rachel smiled as she watched Santana stare at the yellow ball she had given to Rachel all those years ago.

"Of course I do, that was how we met," Rachel said softly. "Then you walked over to me," Rachel continued as she walked to the bed and sat down next to Santana. "And then you demanded to ball back and almost walked off." Santana nodded as she recalled the memory.

"Yeah, but then I didn't." Rachel nodded and silently watched Santana smile fondly as she looked at the ball, turning it in her hand to see all the stars she drew on it.

"Why didn't you?" Rachel asked and Santana stopped and looked at Rachel. "Why didn't you just leave? Why did you sit on that bed with me, when I didn't even talk?" Santana furrowed her eyebrows together, why didn't she just leave? Santana never really thought about it. During the time, when she looked at Rachel, sitting all alone and scared on that bed, it was like something pulled her to sit on that bed. Besides, she hated everyone in the orphanage and Rachel was new, and she didn't seem as bad as all the other kids.

"I…really don't know," Santana said, and grabbed one of Rachel's hands. "But I'm glad I did sit with you." Rachel smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Me too." The two smiled at each other and the rest of the day was spent with the two talking about anything their time together at the orphanage. When it was time for Santana to go home, Rachel walked her to the door.

"So," Santana started. "Can I come pick you up tomorrow for school?"

"I'd like that." Rachel said and Santana smiled.

"Great, I'll pick you up then." Rachel nodded and Santana leaned down to give Rachel a quick kiss on the lips. Once Santana left, Rachel closed the door and leaned against it.

"You look like you just came back from a date." Rachel jumped and looked at Shelby, who was staring at Rachel with an amused look on her face.

"I do not." Rachel huffed and pushed herself off the door.

"So you two are seriously in love?" Shelby asked seriously and Rachel sighed.

"Yes, and she won't hurt me, if that's what you're worried about."

"I know, but I still worry." Shelby said, the thought of Santana hurting Rachel again making her angry. If she couldn't help Rachel with her situation with Santana then, the least she could do now was protect Rachel and support her and Santana's new relationship.

"I know, well, I'm going to bed now. Night." Rachel gave Shelby a quick kiss on the cheek and quickly walked to her bedroom. As she climbed into bed, she smiled as she thought of the day and that now she could actually call Santana her girlfriend, which felt beyond amazing. When Rachel closed her eyes, everything from the day caught up with her and she fell asleep quickly from exhaustion.


	22. Chapter 21

**A/N: **This is the last chapter. I just wanted to say, thank you everyone for all the reviews, and for people who didn't review I'd still thank them for reading this. I honestly didn't think I'd have this many reviews, and it means a lot, especially since this is my first Glee fic I've ever written. I loved writing it and hope you all enjoy the last chapter.

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><p>Just as Santana had said, Santana pulled up to Rachel's house and walked to the door. Rachel had just finished getting changed when she heard the doorbell ring. When she walked to the door and opened it, she saw Santana on the other end, smiling at her.<p>

"Morning babe," Santana said, and Rachel smiled at the name. She leaned down and gave Rachel a quick kiss on the lips. "Can I come in?"

"You're early," Rachel said as she made room for Santana to walk through.

"I just wanted to spend some quality time with my hot girlfriend this morning." Santana said with a shrug and Rachel smiled.

"Tana, that's sweet." Santana grinned.

"I like you're nicknames for me."

"Huh?"

"You called me that and San when you were drunk." Rachel blushed and looked away shyly, making Santana laugh. The two spent their morning together, and decided they wanted to be out to the school.

"I'm proud to have you as my girlfriend and I want to show that to everyone." Rachel smiled and kissed Santana on the lips. Santana ended up driving them to school and as they walked through the front doors Rachel looked at her.

"Wait," She said, pulling Santana off to the side of the hallway. "Do you want to just tell everyone as we see them or announce it to Glee Club?" Santana frowned as she thought about it.

"I don't know, Glee, I guess?" Rachel nodded and went to hold her hand but stopped herself.

"Ugh, it's going to be so hard to resist touching you." Rachel pouted and Santana smiled.

"Well, after Glee you can be all over me again, like yesterday." Rachel blushed and Santana grinned. They walked down the hall, their hands brushing each others, and walked to Rachel's locker. As Santana leaned against the lockers waiting for Rachel, Puck came up and glared at her. Santana huffed and glared back.

"Sup bro," Puck said, still glaring at Santana. "Lopez." Santana raised an eyebrow at him."Puckerman." Rachel groaned and slammed her locker shut, making Santana and Puck look at her.

"I would really appreciate it if my best friend and girlfriend got along."

"Girlfriend?" Puck asked and Rachel's eyes widened in realization of what she had done.

"Rach." Santana sighed and Rachel bit her lip.

"I'm sorry Tana, it just came out and-" Santana laughed and rubbed took Rachel's hand.

"Hey, calm down, it's fine." Santana said reassuringly and Rachel smiled.

"Girlfriend…" Puck said again, and he suddenly grinned. "Way to go bro, you got the girl," Puck slapped Rachel on the back hard, sending her tripping into Santana's arms. Puck grinned at her before becoming serious and looking at Santana. "Hurt her again and I swear…"

"I won't." Santana said quickly and Puck smiled.

"Cool, then we got no problem," Puck turned to Rachel. "We still on for bro's night?"

"Of course." Rachel said and Puck nodded.

"Cool, see you later then." Puck gave Rachel a thumbs up and Rachel laughed lightly. Once Puck was gone, Rachel turned to Santana.

"Bro's night?" Santana asked and Rachel laughed.

"Almost every week we have a Bro's night dedicated just to us," Santana raised an eyebrow and Rachel shrugged. "We play video games all day." Santana smiled and shook her head. The bell ran and the two walked to class, and once they were in they went to their desks. When Rachel sat down next to Puck, he raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to sit with your girl?"

"We decided to lay low until Glee Club, where we will announce our relationship to everyone, so you can't tell anyone I told you, okay?" Puck nodded and Rachel grinned. "Besides, I gotta make room in my day for my bro." Puck grinned and the two bumped fists.

The rest of the day Rachel and Santana had gone through their usual day, acting as if they were still friends and nothing more, but whenever they saw each other in the hall they gave each other a knowing smile. Despite the fact that the decision was mutual, the separation was killing them. They had finally gotten together and all they wanted to do was be with each other.

Finally it was the last period and the bell rang. Santana jumped up from her seat and walked to Rachel. Quinn walked up to them with a raised eyebrow.

"You seem more excited than usual." Santana and Rachel looked at each other quickly before Santana turned to Quinn.

"So what if I am, what's it to you?" Santana said with a shrug.

"Nothing, I guess," Quinn said and looked at the doorway where Brittany was waiting. "See you guys at Glee." Rachel and Santana watched as Quinn walked to Brittany, who waved at them, before the two walked out together.

"Hey, you don't think…?"Santana said when they were gone.

"I think they'd be cute." Rachel said and Santana smiled.

"Yeah," Santana turned to Rachel. "Ready?" Rachel nodded and stood up. Together they walked to the choir room like they normally would and sat next to each other. Mr. Schuester, lat as always, came in excitedly.

"Alright guys, I got a new assignment for you all," Just then Rachel's hand shot up. "Yes, Rachel?" He said and Rachel smiled brightly.

"Mr. Schuester, I have an announcement to make, well, me and Santana have one to make," Mr. Schuester nodded and Rachel and Santana walked to the middle of the choir room. "Well, as you know, relationships change and I hope you all can support us, but, um, we and Santana, well, we're…" Santana smiled and took Rachel's hand.

"We're together." Santana said proudly and Rachel smiled at her. Santana smiled back and leaned down and gave Rachel and lingering kiss on the lips. They could hear everyone else clapping, but they didn't care. When they wrapped their arms around each other and deepened the kiss, Mr. Schuester got up and separated them.

"Alright guys, enough." He said, a smile on his face. Rachel and Santana blushed, but kept holding hands.

"Congrats guys, I'm happy for you." Quinn said and the rest of Glee nodded. Suddenly, Brittany shot up out of her chair and ran to Rachel, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around.

"Congrats Rachy, you two were always happier together." Brittany said and finally stopped spinning.

"Thank you Brittany, I appreciate it." Rachel said, giggling.

"Britt, put my girlfriend down." Santana said, laughing at Brittany's antics. Brittany gingerly placed Rachel on her feet and Santana wrapped her arms around the small girl. Just as they were about to sit down, Finn spoke up.

"W-wait, Rachel, she's your girlfriend?" Finn asked in disbelief. Santana groaned and Rachel sighed.

"Yes, Finn, she is, and I would like it if you accepted that." Finn frowned.

"But, Rachel-"

"Listen, Fincompetence," Santana snapped, tightening her arms around Rachel slightly. "We're together and not leaving each other, so get that in your thick head and get over it." Finn glared at her and stood up.

"See, Rachel, how can you be with someone like that?" Finn yelled and Santana groaned. Before either of them could do or say anything else, Puck shot up from his seat and got in Finn's face.

"What the hell, man?" Finn asked angrily, taking a step back.

"If my bro chooses Santana over you, deal with it and don't you dare mess with her love life." Puck turned to Rachel and grinned. "I got your back, bro."

"Thank you, Noah," Rachel said with a smile. "Finn," She said, turning back to him. "We can never, and will never, be together. So please accept me and Santana, we love each other." Finn looked between Rachel, Santana, and Puck, before stomping out of the room angrily.

Rachel sighed as everyone went back to their seats, and Rachel gave Puck a smile as a silent thanks. Once they were back in their seats, Santana put her arm around Rachel's shoulders. Rachel smiled and put her head on Santana's shoulder, feeling Santana lean her head against hers. As they sat in their chairs and listened to Mr. Schuester, Rachel played with Santana's hand, enjoying the moment.

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><p>As soon as Glee was over Rachel and Santana walked out together and they headed to Santana's car. Once they had gotten inside thought, Santana bit her lip and sat in her seat awkwardly. Rachel looked over at her and frowned.<p>

"What's wrong?" Santana gave Rachel a small smile and held her hand.

"I…haven't told my parents yet." Rachel brought Santana's hand to her lips and kissed it.

"I'll go with you, if you'd like." Rachel said softly and Santana smiled.

"I'd like that." Santana started the car and drove to her house. As Santana drove, Rachel ran her thumb on the back of Santana's hand, calming her down. Once they reached her house Santana took a deep breath and Rachel gave her an encouraging squeeze.

They got out of the car and walked inside, where Santana immediately called both her parents. She led Rachel to the living room and they sat on the couch waiting for Santana's parents. Finally, Ana and Carlos came in, frowning at the sight of a nervous Santana and Rachel.

"What's wrong?" Ana asked.

"Ma, Pa, there's something I need to tell you." Ana and Carlos looked at each other and sat on the two armchairs on each end of the couch.

"Santana, did something happen?" Carlos asked, worried, and Santana shook her head.

"No, nothing happened, but, um," Santana bit her lip and Rachel rubbed Santana's back. When Santana looked at her she smiled softly and Santana smiled back. "I don't know how to say this, but, um, me and Rachel are together." The living room got silent and Carlos and Ana looked at each other.

"Together, as in…" Carlos said and Rachel took Santana's hand again.

"We're a couple." Rachel said, taking over since Santana was quiet. When the living room was still quiet, Santana was ready to run out of the room. Suddenly, Ana laughed lightly, making both girls look at her in surprise.

"Honey, it's okay." Santana blinked and looked at her confused.

"What?" Ana smiled.

"It's okay that you're gay, or bi, whichever one it is, but clearly you like girls," Ana said, motioning at Rachel. "You're still our daughter, and we still love you." Santana gave her a wide smile and Ana stood up and walked to her. Santana quickly stood up and Ana pulled her in for a hug. Rachel watched the scene with a smile, and noticed Carlos stand up and stand in front of her. Rachel quickly stood up and opened her mouth to say something but Carlos held up a hand, making her close it again.

"You and Santana, huh?" Rachel nodded and Carlos smiled. "Well, I've always liked you," Carlos looked over at Santana and back at Rachel. "Take good care of her."

"I will, sir." Carlos laughed and brought hugged Rachel.

"Don't be so formal, call me Carlos." Carlos said, shaking his head at Rachel's formality.

"Okay, Carlos." Rachel said nervously as Carlos let her go. Ana came over and brought Rachel in for a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm so happy for you both," Ana said. "Be good to my little girl." Rachel nodded in Ana's hug, too crushed to speak.

"Ma, you're crushing her!" Santana said and Ana pulled Rachel away, smiling embarrassingly.

"Sorry," She said. Suddenly an idea came to her head and she looked at Rachel enthusiastically. "Stay for dinner, Rachel." Santana sighed.

"Ma..." Santana didn't expect her parents to be so supportive, and she was glad they were, but now they were practically suffocating Rachel with their excitement, especially Ana.

"I-I'd have to ask my mom." Rachel said and Ana nodded. When they let Rachel leave the room Rachel followed Santana to Santana's bedroom.

"Sorry about that." Santana said and she collapsed onto her bed face first. "I definitely didn't expect my parents to react like that." Rachel laughed and sat down next to Santana.

"Well, I think everything turned out better than expected, don't you." Santana turned over on her back and smiled.

"Yeah, it did." Rachel grinned and kissed Santana on the lips. When Rachel pulled away, Santana frowned, and Rachel laughed as she held up her phone.

"Gotta call my mom." Santana nodded and Rachel called Shelby, who let her stay at the Lopez house.

"Try not to get caught trying to undress their daughter there too." Shelby teased, remembering they way Rachel was all over Santana when she walked in on them twice.

"Mom, please," Rachel said, blushing, while Shelby laughed. "I should get going now, I'll see you later." She hung up and laid down on the bed next to Santana. Rachel smiled and gave Santana what was meant to be a quick kiss, but when Rachel pulled back Santana lightly grabbed her face and pulled her in for a deeper kiss.

Rachel moaned and moved so she was on top of Santana, never breaking the kiss. Again, they were caught up making out that they didn't notice someone walking in.

"Holy crap!" The girls jumped and looked up to see Felix standing at the doorway, looking away and covering his eyes.

"Damn it, Felix, what the hell?" Santana asked angrily. "And where were you earlier?"

"Ma told me about you and Rachel being girlfriends when I got home from work," He explained, still looking away. "You two done?" Rachel looked down, realizing she was still on top of Santana and quickly climbed off.

"You can look now." Rachel said and Felix turned around.

"Cool, anyway," Felix looked at Santana as he pointed to Rachel. "I need to borrow your girlfriend for a bit." Santana rolled her eyes as Rachel got up.

"I'll be back." She said and followed Felix out of Santana's room and into his. He closed the door and looked at Rachel.

"Look, I like you, cuz you're pretty cool. Still, I'm Santana's big brother, and I gotta look out for her. So if you hurt her we're not cool, got it?" Rachel nodded.

"Felix, I would never hurt her, I love her." Felix smiled and ruffled Rachel's hair.

"Just being a dutiful brother and telling my sister's dates to watch it," Felix walked to his games and held up a controller. "So, I don't mind playing a game with my sister's girlfriend."

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><p>Santana was laying in her room, waiting for Rachel to come back. When she didn't, she stood up and walked to Felix's room, thinking they were having a long talk or something. When Santana reached the door, she was about to knock until she heard the sound of the TV. She was going to walk away, thinking Rachel went somewhere else, when she heard voices. The two distinct voices of Felix and Rachel. She opened the door, and sure enough, Felix and Rachel were playing a game.<p>

"Rachel!" Rachel jumped and turned around. She gave Santana an apologetic smile as Felix grinned at her.

"Hey, Santana, just spending some quality time with Rachel, hope you don't mind." Santana rolled her eyes and closed the door.

"So you stole my girlfriend." Santana said as she made her way to Rachel, who was sitting on the bed. She moved Rachel's arms out of the way and sat in her lap. Rachel grinned and wrapped her arms around her. When Santana grabbed Rachel's face and kissed her, Felix made a disgusted noise and the two pulled apart, giggling.

"What? I'm just spending quality time with Rachel, hope you don't mind." Santana aid and when Felix rolled his eyes she playfully punched him. The rest of the time, until dinner, was spent in Felix's room playing video games.

Well, more like Rachel and Felix played video games while Santana stayed in Rachel's lap and played with her hair and tried distracting her with kisses. Felix shook his head, laughing at the two, but genuinely happy with how happy Santana was with Rachel.

When they had dinner, Rachel was pleasantly surprised that Carlos and Ana remembered she was Vegan. As Rachel at with the family, it was clear that they liked her, and Santana was glad. She was afraid that if her parents did accept her being gay, they wouldn't have accepted Rachel as anything more than a friend. Luckily, she did, and she was happy about that. When Santana announced she was taking Rachel home, everyone pulled Rachel in for tight hugs.

"C'mon guys, you're suffocating her, again." Santana said and they finally let Rachel go. Once they got to Rachel's house, Santana walked her to the door, and Rachel looked up at Santana.

"Everything turned better than expected, huh?" Rachel asked and Santana smiled.

"No kidding," Santana took both of Rachel's hands. "Rachel, I love you, and now that we're together, my life couldn't get any better." Rachel smiled.

"I love you too, Santana. I love you so much, and being here, with you, able to call you my girlfriend, I couldn't be happier." Santana leaned down and gave her a long kiss on the lips.

"I should probably let you go inside." Santana said when they pulled apart. Rachel laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. Night, Tana." Santana grinned at the name.

"Night, Rach." She gave Rachel one last kiss before going to her car and driving home. The rest of the night the two kept grinning like idiots, but they didn't care even if they got teased by their family. For once in their life, they got something better than they could ever asked for. They had gotten the girl they loved, they had each other.

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><p>It had been six months, six blissful months since Rachel and Santana had gotten together and Rachel loved it. Just like they said, they were still going strong, and nothing was breaking them apart. They already had gone through enough heart break before their relationship to let anyone break them up, especially Finn. Though Rachel was happy that he was slowly accepting their relationship, Rachel wondered if he would ever fully support them like the rest of New Directions.<p>

It was the day before their six month anniversary and Rachel was at Puck's room, playing video games. Usually, Rachel won against Puck most of the time, but today he was winning practically every game they played. When Puck killed Rachel's character again, he frowned and looked at her.

"You okay, bro? You're game's a little off." Rachel groaned and threw the controller on his bed.

"No, I'm so nervous, Noah." Rachel got up and started pacing.

"Why? You and Santana had a fight or something?" Rachel shook her head.

"No, I'm planning our anniversary, remember?" Puck nodded in realization and smiled.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Rachel sighed and nodded.

"I hope so."

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><p>Finally, it was the day of the anniversary, and Rachel looked at her outfit in the mirror. It was simple, jeans, a nice v-neck, and her usual sneakers. She ran her hands along her outfit, fixing invisible wrinkles nervously while Shelby watched amused from her bedroom doorway.<p>

"You're so nervous, calm down." Shelby said, but it didn't calm Rachel down at all.

"What if she hates what I planned? And never wants to speak to me again?" Shelby sighed and walked to Rachel. She stepped behind her and placed her hands on Rachel's shoulders.

"She won't hate it, you'll be fine," Shelby rubbed Rachel's shoulders before lightly slapping them. "Now go, you have a date to pick up." Rachel nodded and gave Shelby a hug before heading out the door. The drive to Santana's house seemed too short, and she didn't get any calmer the entire time. When she rang the doorbell, Carlos answered and he gave her a big smile.

"Rachel, how are you?" He asked as she walked inside.

"Good, thank you." Rachel said and she waited by the stairs, talking with Carlos.

"Hey babe." Rachel looked up and saw Santana walking down the stairs. She was dressed simple like Rachel, but Rachel thought she still looked stunning. To Rachel, Santana would always be beautiful.

"Tana, you look really nice." Santana laughed and shook her head as she reached Rachel.

"I'm practically wearing the same thing as you." Santana motioned to her body, and Rachel looked down at her nice jacket, her shirt that showed some cleavage, and skirt. As Rachel looked at Santana's chest and legs, she couldn't help but lick her lips, which Santana noticed and smirked at.

"You always look nice," Rachel muttered quietly as she looked over Santana's body one last time. When she looked up at Santana, she noticed the taller girl was blushing at Rachel's words, and Rachel smiled. "Ready?" She asked, holding out her hand for Santana to take.

"Always." Santana said as she took Rachel's hand.

"Have fun girls." Carlos said as he led them out the door. Santana gave him a wave as she walked to Rachel's car, and Rachel opened the door for her.

"Such a gentleman tonight." Santana teased and Rachel blushed.

"Well, I want to make sure you're comfortable and I planned this so I just want you to relax and..." Rachel stopped talking and smiled. "Um, well, I think you get what I was saying." She said nervously and closed the door before running to her side of the car. The drive was rather silent, but the comfortable silence with Rachel driving with one hand and the other one was in Santana's lap.

They finally pulled up to a field by a lake and Rachel got out of the car and opened the door for Santana. Santana smiled at her, taking Rachel's outstretched hand, and the two walked up a hill and they stopped in front at a set up picnic on the grass floor. Rachel bit her lip and looked at Santana before looking at the ground.

"I know it's not anything bit, but I thought it would be nice and-" She was cut off when Santana lifted her chin up and gave her a kiss.

"I love it." Rachel smiled and led Santana to the blanket, where they ate the food Rachel had handmade herself. Santana thought the entire thing was sweet, and mostly listened while Rachel talked excitedly about different things. While most of the school complained that she talked too much, Santana loved every second of her talking. She loved the way Rachel's face would lighten up and the way she would smile.

God, Rachel's voice and smile were her favorite things in the world.

They were finally done eating, and once Rachel was done putting all the disposable plates in the trash bag, she stood up and brought Santana up to her feet as well.

"Tana, I love you so much," Santana smiled and cupped Rachel's face. Rachel closed her eyes and leaned in to the touch.

"I love you too, Rach," Rachel smiled at the words and looked up at Santana. She leaned up on her toes and gave Santana a kiss. "Rachel," Santana said once they broke apart. "I know it took me a long time to realize this, but you're the girl my dreams."

"Me too, Santana. I've loved you for so long, and when we're apart I never stop thinking about you, about us," Rachel looked down nervously before looking back up to Santana. "That's why I got you something." Santana looked at her curiously and Rachel smiled as she bent down on one knee, holding both of Santana's hands.

"I love you and all I want to do is make you happy. You are my world, Santana. I'll love you forever, and when we were little you always protected me, and now I want to return the favor. I want to be there for you, every step of the way," Rachel laughed nervously. "And I want us…no, I _know_ we'll still be together in the future. I only have eyes for you and even though it may not be necessary I want to show my love with this." Rachel let go of Santana's hands and reached behind her and took out a box. She opened it, and inside was a promise ring.

Santana took a deep breath when she saw it. It wasn't an expensive ring, and was rather simple but Santana still loved. Rachel had bought it with her own money, for her, so how could Santana _not_ love it?

"Rachel, it's beautiful." Rachel smiled in relief, she had been worried Santana was going to hate it.

"I'm so happy." Rachel said as she slid the ring on Santana's finger. Santana pulled Rachel up to her feet and gave her a slow, passionate kiss. When they pulled away, Rachel was grinning like a fool. Santana lifted Rachel up in the air and spun her around, making the two giggle. Santana put Rachel down back on the blanket and pulled her down on the ground until they were both laying down and facing each other.

"Rachel, you're so perfect , I wonder what I did to deserve you." Santana said quietly as she ran her finger along Rachel's cheek.

"You're the perfect one," Rachel said as she took Santana's hand and kissed it. Santana laughed, before she used to think things like this were only in cliché romance movies. She definitely didn't think she'd be doing them herself. But now, with Rachel, she didn't care. "I got you something else."

"Another present? You're doing too much, babe." Santana said playfully and Rachel grinned as she went into the basket where she pulled out the food. She pulled out the yellow ball and laid down next to Santana, holding it out to her.

"Rachel, why are you giving me that? It's yours." Santana asked, confused, and Rachel shook her head.

"I want you to have it," Santana opened her mouth to argue, but Rachel cut her off. "Take it, it's my gift to you. Besides, I still have you're drawing." Santana nodded and took it. She turned it over in her hand, seeing all of the familiar stars, until she came across something new.

There, in between the stars, was Santana's and Rachel's names together in neat handwriting. _Santana + Rachel_. Santana looked over at Rachel, who was smiling.

"Oh, babe," She looked back at the ball. "I love it," She smiled back at Rachel. "I love _you_."

"I love you too." Rachel said. Santana scooted closer to Rachel and wrapped her arms around her. Rachel giggled, melting in to Santana's embrace. Together, they stayed like that, enjoying each other's touch. They were finally together, and screw it, they were going to stay together no matter what. It was them, complete memories and all, against the world. Nothing was breaking them apart. Ever.


End file.
